How Do Educational Sexual Health Programs Improve Safe Sex Behaviors?

Sexual health programs that include sexual desire and sexual pleasure can improve knowledge and attitudes around sex, as well as condom use compared to those that do not, according to research published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Billions of dollars are spent around the world each year on sexual and reproductive health and rights services and programs. Yet with fewer than ten years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which target sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, there is still a huge global burden of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.

Researchers from The Pleasure Project, WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Research and colleagues review 33 unique interventions targeting STI/HIV risk reduction that incorporate pleasure, and meta-analyze eight.

They find evidence that including pleasure can have significant positive effects across information- and knowledge-based attitudes, including participants’ self-belief in behavior change, and motivation to use condoms, as well as in behavior and condom use.

While the authors searched for interventions across a spectrum of sexual health interventions (including contraception and family planning interventions), the review ultimately included only STI/HIV-related programs targeting populations traditionally considered ‘vulnerable’.

Researchers note that future work is needed to incorporate and evaluate pleasure-inclusive interventions in the reproductive health space and for general populations.

Pleasure has been over-looked and stigmatized in health promotion and sex education, despite its obvious connection to sexual health and well-being.

This systematic review and meta-analysis show that including sexual pleasure considerations in sexual and reproductive health services improves condom use and so may also improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes.

Policymakers and program managers should more readily acknowledge that pleasure is a key driver of sexual behavior and that incorporating it in sexual and reproductive health services can reduce adverse outcomes.

Source-Medindia