HIV AIDS IN THE CONTEXT OF CULTURE - SELECTION OF ETHNOCULTURAL COMMUNITIES FOR STUDY IN CANADA/

This article reports on the methodology used to select six ethnocultur al communities invited to participate in subsequent phases of the proj ect on HIV/AIDS in the context of culture in Canada. Selection was bas ed on quantitative data on demography, qualitative assessment of ethno cultural cohesion; and quantitative data and qualitative data of expos ure to risk for sexually transmitted disease. A principle of partnersh ip insured that the final selection was completed by interaction betwe en the investigators and the National Advisory Committee representing ethnocultural communities in Canada. The six communities asked to part icipate in Phase II of the study were: in Montreal, the Latin American and the Arabic-speaking communities; in Toronto, the English-speaking Caribbean communities and communities from the Horn of Africa; in Van couver, the Chinese and the South Asian communities, The results are s ignificant for the future both of research on ethnicity in Canada and of control of HIV and AIDS.