Getting the Canadian HIV epidemic to zero: Valuing indigenous cultures through holistic research

This paper was orally presented at the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, Wise Practices IV - Community-Based Research Gathering on September 25, 2013 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada as the LaVerne Monette Memorial Lecture. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to describe the HIV epidemic among Aboriginal people living in Canada; and (2) to examine the value of incorporating indigenous cultures into research within the context of holistic research perspectives. The methodology used to address the objectives was an integrative review (i.e., structured review) of the literature. The major results of this review revealed that while Aboriginal people make up 3.8% of the Canadian population, they represent 12.2% of all new HIV infections in 2011. In 2011, a full 81% of newly diagnosed HIV cases in the Province of Saskatchewan were of Aboriginal ethnicity. Although there are diverse approaches to conducting research involving Aboriginal populations (e.g., critical social paradigm, indigenous research paradigm, and critical indigenous pedagogy vis-à-vis critical, indigenous qualitative research), each has its unique challenges. This paper concludes that Aboriginal people are overrepresented in the Canadian HIV epidemic and that valuing indigenous cultures through holistic research perspectives has the potential to get the Canadian HIV epidemic to zero.