Evaluation of Sexual Health Literacy in Midwifery Students

Year 2025, Volume: 32 Issue: 2, 157 - 168, 19.06.2025

Serpil Özbaş , Seray Gerey , Şükran Özkahraman Koç

https://doi.org/10.17343/sdutfd.1637040

Abstract

Objective: Midwifery students need to have sufficient knowledge and equipment about sexual health to provide accurate guidance to individuals during lifelong service provision. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the sexual health literacy levels of midwifery students.
Materials and Methods: This study was designed as a descriptive study. Students (n=282) who were attending the midwifery department of a public university between May and June 2024 and who volunteered to participate in the study were included in the study. A form was created using Google Forms, and demographic and descriptive characteristics of the participants, such as age, gender, class, family type, and questions about sexual health, were collected with this form. The Sexual Health Literacy Scale was also sent to the participants using Google Forms.
Results: In the study, it was determined that the mean total score of the Sexual Health Literacy Scale of midwifery students was 48,78±13,05. The mean score of Sexual Knowledge sub-dimension of the scale was 36,86±11,23 and the mean score of Sexual Attitude sub-dimension was 11,91±4,62. Accordingly, it was determined that the students had a moderate attitude towards sexual health literacy, and the factors affecting it were income status, housing status, and family approach. In addition, knowing the concept of sexual health literacy, finding the level of knowledge sufficient, and being able to provide sexual and reproductive health education affect the mean total score of the students.
Conclusions: In line with these findings, it should be aimed to strengthen students' knowledge and attitudes in this field by including more educational content that will increase sexual health literacy in midwifery programs. It is recommended that interactive methods, such as simulation training and case discussions, should be added to the programs in addition to theoretical course hours in order to increase practical applications and experiences in sexual health education and to equip students with ethical dilemmas, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-based practices in the cases they encounter.

Keywords

Midwifery , Student , Sexual Health Literacy

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval of the study was obtained from Süleyman Demirel University Health Sciences Ethics Committee on 29.04.2024 with decision number 75/6.

Supporting Institution

The authors declare that they receive no financial support.

Thanks

Acknowledgements : We would like to thank the midwifery students who participated in our study.

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