PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Indigenous 1 people experience disproportionately high rates of sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections (STBBIs). Statistics can provide a snapshot of STBBI rates and trends among Indigenous populations but not the root causes of STBBI transmission. Without a full understanding of the causes of Indigenous health inequities generally, developing effective solutions to improve STBBI health outcomes among Indigenous populations will be difficult. This plain language summary provides an overview of the broader structural and systemic factors that influence the prevention, transmission, and treatment of STBBIs among Indigenous populations in Canada.
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SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED AND BLOOD-BORNE INFECTIONS IN INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS: Understanding the social determinants
This summary is derived from the background paper, Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections in Indigenous populations, which provides a literature review of STBBIs among Indigenous populations in Canada and ways of reducing STBBI transmission in Indigenous communities. The background report and this summary are two of several knowledge translation products developed by the National
Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH), in collaboration with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID), on STBBIs and the accessibility, availability, and delivery of STBBI services among First Nations people, Inuit, and Métis people in Canada. More information and access to these knowledge products can be found on the NCCIH and NCCID websites.
In this fact sheet, the term “Indigenous” is used as an umbrella term referring to First Nations (status and non-status) people, Inuit, and Métis people, collectively. Wherever possible, the terms “First Nations”, “Inuit”, and/or “Métis” are used to reference and distinguish specific Indigenous populations.