Grant: Doctoral Research Award -PA: Research in First Nations, Métis &/or Inuit Health

Background: Indigenous scholars suggest that young Aboriginal people involved in sex work in Canada are facing alarming levels of intergenerational trauma including drug related harm, and HIV and HCV infection. Objectives: 1) To monitor the incidence and predictors of sex work initiation among young Aboriginal people who use drugs and participate in the Cedar project; 2) To explore the role of poverty, family and intimate relationships, involvement with the foster care system and intergenerational trauma in transitioning into sex work through life history, focus groups and interviews; and 3) To explore sources of resiliency and strength among young Aboriginal people involved in sex work for the purpose of developing culturally safe, resiliency based programming. Hypothesis: 1) Sex work involvement is highly associated with transition to injection drug use; and 2) Family systems and cultural resources are sources of strength and resiliency for young Aboriginal people transitioning into sex work. Methods: The Cedar Project is an ongoing CIHR funded prospective cohort study since 2003, that monitors HIV and HCV infection among 600 Aboriginal people aged 14-30 using illicit drugs in Vancouver, Prince George and Chase, BC. The Cedar Project Partnership governs the research and knowledge translation throughout the project. A combination of ethnographic and epidemiological approaches will inform this project. Quantitative analysis will provide prevalence and incidence of Cedar participants involved in/transitioning into sex work and qualitative data will address resiliency and vulnerability to transitioning into sex work. Dissemination: Findings related to each of the objectives will be written in manuscripts and submitted to peer-reviewed journals. Adhering to the OCAP principles and the CIHR Guidelines for Research Involving Aboriginal People, two separate reports will serve as knowledge translation for Aboriginal leadership, communities and service organizations.