Ethics, intersectionality and community participation in action research with Inuit youth on violence and mental health

Racism is a barrier to developing effective research and health promotion, in that racialized population groups are often seen to be homogenous. For example, Inuit are frequently assumed to be living in the Arctic and pursuing traditional lives, whereas the increasing urbanization of Inuit has resulted in one quarter of the population living in large urban centres in southern Canada. In addition to location and relationship to traditional culture, gender, age, sexuality, language, income, occupation, literacy, self-esteem, and context also have an impact on Inuit access to, perception of, and uptake of health promotion messages. This presentation outlines key elements of ethical guidelines (Chapter 9 on First Nations, Inuit and Métis of Canada’s Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans; Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Nunavut Research Institute’s Negotiating Research Relationships with Inuit Communities). It takes these guidelines further by adding an intersectional lens. In research on Inuit youth, it is important to have Inuit youth participating in steering the research and action strategy, and not assume that one organization or person can represent everybody. Because females and males may have different experiences of both experiencing and perpetrating violence, and may respond differently to violence-prevention messages, gender is a central point of analysis in interviews with 25 female and male Inuit aged 17 to 24. The research is conducted in partnership with Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada which will use the results to co-create with Inuit youth a violence-prevention social media outreach strategy aimed at Inuit youth.