Story Sharing for Sexual Health: Piloting Culturally Relevant Intervention with South Asian Immigrant Women in Canada

Abstract: Objective: There is a scarcity of research on sexual health education among women in South Asian diasporic communities in Canada, resulting in a need for designing culturally relevant approaches to teach about sexual health and HIV prevention, seen as taboo topics. This community-based research study was designed to determine the effectiveness of using culturally relevant stories as a model for sexual health education for South Asian immigrant women (Toronto, Canada). Design: South Asian women participants were randomly allocated to either a fact-based intervention ( n = 40) or a story-based intervention ( n = 38). Focus group data from fact-based and story-based educational workshops were thematically analyzed and interpreted using the parasocial contact hypothesis. Findings: Although participants found the fact sheets to be informative, they were not culturally relevant. The educational sessions using stories were judged to better meet this criterion with many participants feeling the information was relevant to their community, useful for friends and families, and relatable to their lives. Participants assigned considerable value to the family as an important site for sexual health education. Finally, study participants, particularly those who had the storytelling intervention talked about the importance of having a safe space to discuss taboo topics like sexual health. Conclusions: Learning about sexual health through stories is deeper relative to static fact sheets. Both play a role in helping South Asian women learn about sexual health and HIV prevention; however, story sharing was seen as a culturally relevant approach that emphasized the role of the family in sexual health conversations. Family life educators and other health practitioners need to draw on cultural competence as they design culturally relevant material and interventions for sexual health education.