Shira Taylor
Shira Taylor is doctoral candidate at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She holds a BSc. in Psychology and an MSc. in Community Health and Epidemiology from Queen’s University. As both a performer and an academic, Shira is committed to exploring the use of theatre to promote sexual health and HIV prevention among inner-city Toronto youth. The intervention that she has designed and will subsequently implement, with SRC support, is modelled after a program she has both performed in and co-directed, Existere - a peer-based social action theatre program at Queen’s University that targets freshmen students in a creative and engaging manner concerning the wide-ranging issues facing university students. Shira went on to co-found Excetera, a sister program that engages Queen’s students year-round. Shira’s work aims to respond to calls for progressive and innovative HIV prevention among youth that recognizes the social and structural drivers of risky sexual behaviours, as well as a growing body of research demonstrating theatre's unique potential to engage young people on both an intellectual and emotional level on complex social issues. Shira possesses other relevant experience that situate her in a unique position on both the academic and practical sides of her proposed intervention. Shira has worked as the director of theatre programming at Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa, produced/ directed/ choreographed/ performed a “RENT” flash mob for World AIDS day in Toronto to help disseminate the results of a CANFAR and SRC led study (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPhEk_eUW2w), and has performed at the Toronto Fringe Festival for the last three summers with Shakey-Shake and Friends, a theatre company that use puppets and popular culture references to make Shakespeare accessible to young audiences. Further, Shira has volunteered as an Advanced Medical Responder with Queen’s First Aid, and provided counselling, teach-ins, and referrals as a Sexual Health Resource Centre volunteer. Shira is a preferred research consultant for the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (Ophea) and is currently working at SickKids as Research Project Coordinator of the Knowledge Mobilization Pod of the new cross-Canada, SSHRC-funded, Art for Social Change (ASC!) project.
Theatre as a Pedagogical Tool for HIV Prevention/ Sexual Health Education among Inner City Youth
Youth sexual health remains a complex public health issue, with the burden of poor sexual health disproportionately impacting youth living in regions characterized by low socio-economic status. Empirical research has consistently demonstrated the necessity for innovative, dynamic, and interactive forms of sex education that incorporates youth input and moves beyond a biomedical lens to take into account the psychosocial and political context of sexual health. While a large body of literature has been outspoken in making recommendations to improve sex education, studies exploring creative and theoretically sound ways of incorporating recommendations into practiceare scarce. In light of theatre's unique potential to engage youth on complex issues on both a cognitive and affective level, this study aims to advance the growing relationship between the arts and public health by exploring theatre as a pedagogical tool for sex education among inner city youth. Fifteen high-school aged peer educators will be recruited from a priority area of Toronto, with the support of the Flemingdon Health Centre. Peer educators will engage in a participatory process, with opportunities to discuss relevant topics and create performance-based representations of issues surrounding sexuality, sexual health, and relationships. This process will culminate in a theatre performance to engage peers in the community. This study also aims to address gaps in the evaluation of arts-based interventions by employing a multi-method, critical realist approach, triangulating data from a range of methods to identify and examine any intervention impacts on both peer educators and audiences. Quantitative surveys will assess any impacts on sexual health and personal/social development and participants’ opinions on the use of theatre for sex education. Qualitative methods, including focus groups, a participatory evaluation workshop for peer educators, observation of the process, and arts-based data collection, will be pursued in order to elucidate the mechanisms of change and effects of context on any program outcomes, in line with realist evaluation. Further, in the spirit of participatory action research and empowerment evaluation, peer educators will be included as active partners in the research process rather than as passive research subjects, contributing to survey instrument development, taking on active roles in the participatory evaluation workshop, and shaping overall program development.
