”Let’s get Sexfluent! Exploring New Models for Modernizing Youth HIV Resources in Canada” is a CIHR-funded collaboration between community-based organizations across Canada, academic researchers, peer researchers, youth leaders, and people living with HIV to evaluate the youth sexual health and harm reduction resource “Sexfluent” for diverse youth communities.
Sexfluent is the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research’s (CANFAR) new bilingual, evidence-based online national youth resource that addresses HIV and STBBI prevention through a comprehensive approach that examines gender identity and sexuality, modern dating and relationships, sexual pleasure, mental health, substance use, and harm reduction.
We want to determine whether Sexfluent is reaching the right audiences, and gather information that can be used to continue the cycle of continuous feedback and improvement. In partnership with a youth advisory committee, peer researchers and community partners across Canada will work together to gather data from youth visiting the Sexfluent website through an online survey to learn more about who access the site, how they found it, their feedback, its potential impact on behaviors. We will also recruit participants for in-depth focus group discussions with priority youth populations. Focus groups will use fun and interactive activities to orient youth to the website and its features in order to explore its relevance and potential for diverse groups. Peer researchers will be involved in all aspects of the study including refining data collection instruments, gathering data, analysis and knowledge translation.
As a proud partner of this study, CCBR will work alongside CANFAR and York University to contribute to all stages of this project. We will play a specialized role in co-designing peer researcher training and participatory peer-led analysis design; and provide coaching on set-up, organization, and facilitation of youth advisory committees.