标题：Factors Influencing the Health and Wellness of Urban Aboriginal Youths in Canada: Insights of In-Service Professionals, Care Providers, and Stakeholders
摘要：We addressed the positive and negative factors that influence the health and wellness of urban Aboriginal youths in Canada and ways of restoring, promoting, and maintaining the health and wellness of this population. Fifty-three in-service professionals, care providers, and stakeholders participated in this study in which we employed the Glaserian grounded theory approach. We identified perceived positive and negative factors. Participants suggested 5 approaches—(1) youth based and youth driven, (2) community based and community driven, (3) culturally appropriate, (4) enabling and empowering, and (5) sustainable—as well as some practical strategies for the development and implementation of programs. We have provided empirical knowledge about barriers to and opportunities for improving health and wellness among urban Aboriginal youths in Canada. The Aboriginal population represents 4.3% of the total Canadian population, and 46.2% of the Aboriginal population are younger than 25 years. 1 Aboriginal youths in Canada have a mortality rate that is 3 times higher than the national average. They have disproportionately higher rates of preventable chronic and infectious diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and sexually transmitted infections, than do non-Aboriginal youths. 2–4 An estimated 73.0% of Canadian Aboriginal youths consume diets that do not meet recommended nutritional standards, and 52.0% of this population are physically inactive. 3 Furthermore, the quality of life 5,6 and emotional and psychosocial well-being of this population 7–9 are affected by socioeconomic factors such as poverty and socioenvironmental factors, including the presence of violence. 10,11 Adolescence is a critical stage of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual growth in a person’s life. 12 Therefore, it is important to understand factors affecting and ways of improving the health and wellness of the young Aboriginal population. The urban Aboriginal youth population has grown rapidly. 2 Socioenvironmental circumstances of urban contexts have confounding effects on the health and wellness of urban Aboriginal youths. 13 Although several community-based health promotion studies have been conducted to address the health disparities among urban Aboriginal youths (e.g., drug prevention and nutrition intervention studies), 14,15 little is known about the complex causes of these disparities or the mechanisms for well-being among this population. We asked the following questions to prioritize aspects for the development and implementation of health-promotion programs that are focused particularly on nutrition and physical activity: (1) What positive and negative factors influence the health and wellness of urban Aboriginal youths? and (2) What are the ways of restoring, promoting, and maintaining the health and wellness of urban Aboriginal youths? We have provided empirical data for cross-cultural comparisons of the perspectives of urban Aboriginal youths and those of professionals, care providers, and stakeholders. Furthermore, we have provided for the first time, to our knowledge, empirical knowledge regarding barriers to and opportunities for improving health and wellness among urban Aboriginal youths in Canada.
