Gonorrhea rates climb across NWT
Department of health: traditional ways of informing youth about STIs don't work
Emelie Peacock
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Deputy chief public health officer Kami Kandola says new ways of reaching youth are needed as gonorrhea rates continue to rise across the Northwest Territories.
Deputy chief public health officer Kami Kandola is unable to say exactly why some communities have higher infection rates than others - |
The number of people infected with the sexually transmitted infection is very high in the territory compared to the rest of Canada.
Eleven people per 1,000 are infected, compared to the Canadian average of 0.6 per 1,000. Statistics from 2016 show infection rates continuing to climb, with the Tlicho and Deh Cho regions reporting much higher rates than the rest of the territory.
Kandola is unable to say exactly why some communities have higher infection rates than others but speculated it may be that people are engaging in more unprotected sex or delaying access to health care and testing, leading to more people infected.
Candice Lys, executive director of youth health program FOXY, said statistics about STIs should be taken with a grain of salt given the small population in the NWT. She said one explanation for the higher statistics in some regions could be that more people are getting tested and more gonorrhea is getting caught.
Lys said it all comes down to increasing access to protection and removing the stigma of accessing condoms and getting tested for STIs. Even in smaller communities, Lys said condoms can usually be found at health centres, but access varies by community.
"A lot of things are more tough in smaller communities," she said. "Availability of things, worries about confidentiality - these things are often heightened."
Those most at risk of gonorrhea infection are young people, females aged 15 to 19 and males age 20 to 24.
Kandola said the Department of Health and Social Services is currently reviewing its strategic direction in order to reach youth who are not being reached through current methods.
"What doesn't work is posters and pamphlets," she said. "We have to figure out creative ways of engaging with the new cohort of youth."
Kandola did not give a date for when the sexual health framework or its new approach will be finalized. She said public health needs to talk to people in Tlicho and Deh Cho to understand what is happening in these communities, as well as process the information from last month's Back to the Trail Youth Gathering at Camp Connections along the Ingraham Trail, where young people from across the territory discussed health and wellness.
Lys said the best way to prevent the spread of gonorrhea, a bacterial infection spread via anal, vaginal or oral sex, is to use condoms or dental dams and get tested.
Kandola said people who are sexually active with more than one partner need to get tested often and people in monogamous relationships also need to ensure both partners are tested prior to having unprotected sex.
