Youth Sexual Health Team
The Youth Sexual Health Team is based at the School of Population & Public Health at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Led by Professor Jeannie Shoveller, it is an interdisciplinary research team dedicated to reducing health and social inequities for young people. The YSHT brings together faculty, staff, as well as graduate and undergraduate students from universities in North America, the UK and Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Federal and provincial/state health and social service agencies and community partners from educational, social services and non-profit sectors are also included. The YSHT uses a combination of methods and study designs to inform the development of population-level interventions that aim to improve young people’s sexual health, including HIV/STI risk.
Gender, Culture and Place
Gender, culture and place help to shape social relations and structural conditions. These and other influences, in turn, put many youth’s sexual health at risk. Our research unpacks assumptions about the notions of gender, culture and place. We examine the multiple ways in which social relations and structural conditions are constituted and how they are expressed in young people’s lives. Our research aims to create new understandings of the complexities and multiplicities that need to be addressed in order to reduce health and social inequalities experienced by young people.