Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jun 15, 2023
Date Accepted: Jul 28, 2023
Adolescents and Young Adults Evaluating a Website for Affective-sexual Information and Education: A Multicentre, Cross-Sectional Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Today's young people have long been demanding a paradigm shift in the emotional and sexual education they receive. While for them, affective-sexual and gender diversity is already a reality, the sexual and reproductive health professionals they encounter lack sufficient training. The digital devices and affective-sexual education websites aimed at today's young people must also be thoroughly evaluated. The website Sexe Joves is a website on sexuality of the Department of Health of the Government of Catalonia (Spain). It is designed for 14- to 25-year-olds. It currently needs to undergo a process of evaluation. Affective-sexual education aimed at young people must stem from their participation and the whole range of sexual and gender diversity in order to reach the entire population equally.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the website Sexe Joves as a source of affective-sexual health information, education and communication for young people. It takes into account sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and location within Catalonia (urban, semiurban and rural areas).
Methods:
Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study that forms part of a larger mixed methods study. An ad hoc questionnaire was used to collect data. In total, 1,830 participants were included. The study was carried out simultaneously in all the territorial administrations of Catalonia.
Results:
Almost 30% of the sample obtained were young people who experience affective-sexual and gender diversity. Of those surveyed, only 14.2% (n=260) said they were familiar with the website and of these, 6.5% said they used it (n=114). The website content rated most indispensable was sexual abuse, harassment and violence, followed by sexually transmitted infections. And 70.5% reported that they visit pornographic websites.
Conclusions:
The results of this study will contribute to the design of new strategies for the website Sexe Joves, a public health resource, in order to improve affective-sexual education for young people.
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