Pilot testing Fostering Open eXpression among Youth (FOXY), an arts-based HIV/STI prevention approach for adolescent women in the Northwest Territories, Canada

Peer-led interventions have become a popular method of providing sexual health education to adolescents, but the efficacy of this approach and the methodological quality of recent trials have not been systematically reviewed. Electronic and hand searches were conducted to identify quasi-randomized and randomized controlled trials of peer-led adolescent sexual health education published from 1998 to 2005. Studies were eligible if they had an appropriate comparison group, provided preintervention and postintervention data, and reported all outcomes. Study results were summarized and, where appropriate, pooled; in addition, 10 aspects of studies' methodological quality were assessed. Thirteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Pooled, adjusted results from seven trials that examined the effects of peer-led interventions on condom use at last sex found no overall benefit (odds ratio, 1.0). None of the three trials that assessed consistent condom use found a benefit. One study reported a reduced risk of chlamydia (0.2), but another found no impact on STD incidence. One study found that young women (but not young men) who received peer-led education were more likely than nonrecipients to have never had sex. Most interventions produced improvements in knowledge, attitudes and intentions. Only three studies fulfilled all 10 of the assessed quality criteria; two others met nine criteria. Despite promising results in some trials, overall findings do not provide convincing evidence that peer-led education improves sexual outcomes among adolescents. Future trials should build on the successful trials conducted to date and should strive to fulfill existing quality criteria.

This article reports a systematic review of literature published between 1994 and 2004 on the effects of performing arts for health in young people aged 11-18. The review includes research on music, performance, drama and dance in community settings and non-curricular mainstream education. A total of 17 electronic databases were searched and 3670 papers identified, 104 of which met relevance criteria. Full text scrutiny of 85 papers was undertaken and 14 of these were identified for review. The research was heterogeneous, making overall synthesis of results inappropriate. The review demonstrates that research on the impact of the performing arts on young people is at a relatively early stage.

From the early days of the HIV epidemic, Indigenous peoples were identified as a population group that experiences social and economic determinants—including colonialism and racism—that increase exposure to HIV. There are now substantial disparities in HIV rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in some countries. We conducted a comprehensive literature review to assess the evidence on HIV-related behaviors and determinants in four countries—Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States—in which Indigenous peoples share important features of colonization and marginalization. We identified 107 articles over more than 20 years. The review highlights the determinants of HIV-related behaviors including domestic violence, stigma and discrimination, and injecting drug use. Many of the factors associated with HIV risk also contribute to mistrust of health services, which in turn contributes to poor HIV and health outcomes among Indigenous peoples.