Abstract
Title: Sexual Health in Greenland - Prevention and implementation
Background: Problems related to sexual health constitute a public health problem in Greenland with an increasing incidence of sexual transmitted infections, a high number of abortions, low sexual onset age, and a large number who reports lack of co-determination in sexual intercourse. There are currently no national targets for preventing the issues related to sexual health in Greenland.
Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate, how sexual health is improved based on change in existing preventive health strategies, based on change of preventive health strategies, with the aim to prevent problems related to sexual health.
Method: A systematic search was performed in the databases PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane, Sociological Abstracts and ProQuest. Furthermore, a document analysis was performed of selected Greenlandic Public Health Programs and related mid-term evaluations, using a thematic analysis strategy. Theoretical use of the Socio-ecological Model by Dahlgren and Whitehead from 1991, Theory of prevention strategies by Rose from 2001, Implementation Theory by Fixsen from 2005 and 2015, and Theory of change by Leavitt from 1965.
Results: In the systematic literature search, five relevant articles were identified. The document analysis generated four themes in the form of challenges in relation to successful implementation of sexual health in the upcoming Public Health Program. The themes identified challenges in relation to dealing with managerial challenges, organizational challenges, unstable staff situations and lack of monitoring and evaluation as well as challenges with the use of uniform prevention strategy.
Conclusion: Sexual health need to be included in the Greenlandic Public Health Program Inuuneritta III, with recommendations for implementation of prevention strategies regards sexual health. 1: Improved coordination between organizational levels in the Greenlandic health organization. 2: Supplement of directional documents to Inuuneritta III. 3: Improved focus on monitoring and evaluation. 4: Increased focus on combination of prevention strategies. 5: Increased focus on actors in preventive action. It further concludes that each of the five recommendations consistently considers cultural and contextual conditions at the implementation of prevention strategies.