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Sexual health is insufficiently addressed in health care and higher education, which can lead to lower quality of life and negative health outcomes. To improve the situation, it is necessary to address both the needs of patients and professionals and collaboratively engage in finding sustainable solutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility and value of large-scale digital coproduction in higher education.

A study of a project that developed seven interprofessional, digital master-level courses covering different topics related to sexual health. The project was performed through digital coproduction in higher education, with over 100 persons with various backgrounds working together online in designing content and novel digital learning activities.

Large-scale digital coproduction in higher education is feasible and valuable, but the process demands sensitive leadership, understanding of coproduction processes and willingness to learn from each other. To meet the demands from practice it is important to understand the complexity, ever-changing and unpredictable working life changes which, in turn, demands engagement in continuous learning, training activities and the need for formal education.

The study provides learning of the feasibility of the value of large-scale digital coproduction in higher education, which is a novel way of working in higher education.

Parents are sometimes perceived as barriers to providing comprehensive and inclusive sexuality education to young people. However, little is known about parents’ actual attitudes towards providing such broad information to young people. The purpose of this paper is to examine two different approaches to measuring parents’ attitudes towards sexuality information, a programme title approach and a topic-centred approach.

Illinois parents of adolescents (n=301) indicated their knowledge about and attitudes towards sexuality education programmes and 18 sexual health topics via online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine whether parents’ attitudes were more consistent with a programme-centred (i.e. abstinence-only, comprehensive) or a topic-centred (i.e. physical health, sexual and gender identity, pleasure, and relationships) approach.

Parents were uncertain about what form of sexuality education was offered but most were equally comfortable with both abstinence-only and comprehensive programmes. Parents’ ratings of topics grouped significantly better by the topic-centred than the programme-centred approach. Parents rated all four subjects as important, with the highest mean ratings given to physical health topics. Further, parents’ ratings of importance by subject matter were largely independent of their reported programming preference. Together these findings provide evidence that parents believe it is important for their children to have access to a broad range of sexual health education information.

This study is one of the first to document parents’ support for information for young people that goes beyond being comprehensive to include topics such as identities and pleasure. In addition, parents’ lack of knowledge about sexuality education programming may obscure their support for sexual health information. Measuring support by specific topics, however, can help to overcome issues due to parents’ lack of knowledge about programming.

Digital technology has great potential for educating today’s digitally oriented adolescents on health. In particular, digital health gamified learning can make the promotion of the sexual well-being of adolescents more effective. Although venereal diseases such as HIV/AIDS have become a greater problem in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries than in any country outside of Africa, little is publicly known about the development of gamified learning for use in counter-measures. This paper aims to address that deficit by presenting the process of developing one such game. The paper highlights how the “My Future Begins Today” game for sexual health education was developed, evaluated and refined in the real-world of low-tech settings and made improvements based on the response of users.

Design-based research (DBR) was used to guide the design, develop, test and refine the digital game in iterative cycles. The evaluation of the effectiveness of iterations of the game was done using adolescent sexual health literacy tests and the validated Motivation, Attitude, Knowledge and Engagement framework, the authors developed based on existing approaches. That framework combines the elements of motivation, attitude, knowledge and engagement, effectiveness was evaluated based on the game’s ability to motivate students, improve their attitudes, increase their acquisition of knowledge and engage them in learning self-rating surveys and interviews. The whole process of game design, testing, evaluation and refinement were underpinned by the activity theory, DBR and participatory design (PD) research.

Participants in the gamified learning platforms demonstrated higher average scores on their post-tests than their counterparts subjected to the traditional teaching classroom. Also, gamified learning groups commented positively on the effectiveness of their instructional approach than their counterparts in the traditional learning group. The stakeholders’ involvement in developing gamified learning provided a good understanding of the importance of the game to the adolescent students and how it was going to be used to address the problem identified. The application of PD contributed to the effectiveness of the game. It involved various actors from various fields who were relevant to the game. Also, engaging targeted users from the beginning resulted in the creation of a better correspondence with the preferences of end-users.

This study has contributed to a better understanding of sex education and knowledge in the area of adolescent reproductive health issues, using developed innovative game mechanics features and its applicability in low-tech settings.

The study will be a recommendation for future researchers in applying this gamified learning concept and its suitability in their teaching practice, particularly regarding sexual health education and adolescent reproductive health issues in low-tech settings of SSA.

This paper seeks to explore the theoretical bases for teacher‐delivered and peer‐delivered sexual health promotion and education.

The first section briefly outlines the main theories informing sexual health interventions for young people, and the second discusses their implications for modes of delivery.

Most interventions that claim to be theoretically based draw on social‐psychological cognition theories. Other programmes aim to develop self‐esteem and/or empowerment, while the two main sociological ideas underpinning sexual health programmes are the gendered construction of sexuality and the diffusion of innovations.

More research is necessary to clarify the mechanisms by which sexual health promotion works, which in turn should contribute to more empirically based theory.

If theoretical ideas are to be translated into potentially effective programmes, the specific features of the setting, target group and those delivering the programme must be taken into account.

This paper compares the theoretical justifications for different modes of delivering sexual health promotion, through outreach peer educators, formal school‐based peer educators and teachers.

Presents the results of an investigation into effective methods of peer‐led sexual health promotion work with young gay and bisexual men. The study recruited a group of young gay and bisexual men from Southampton who underwent training to participate in a peer‐led sexual health intervention in which they conducted one‐to‐one interviews with a selection of their peers. Reports briefly on the key learning to arise from the process of recruiting and training peer educators, and in greater depth concerning the quasi‐experimental evaluation of the intervention the peer educators participated in to promote sexual health. The study found that rapport and familiarity between project workers and potential recruits aided the recruitment process, and that informal, confidence‐building activities were key factors in the effectiveness of the peer educators’ training. The peer educators were most effective in terms of information provision, but weaker on the exploration of attitudes and beliefs, or the encouragement of safer sexual behaviour. The advantages associated with the intervention included its ability to target individuals in a range of community settings, to stimulate in‐depth discussion about sexual health, to identify individual needs and to facilitate outcome evaluation over time.

This study, a theory-based interventional study, aims to promote self-care behaviors regarding sexual and reproductive health in adolescents (female) in Karaj, Iran.

This study was conducted on 90 female students of the Alborz University of Medical Sciences in Iran. For selecting subjects, the researchers went to two girls' dormitories on working days and tried to observe the proportion of students with different fields. Initially, 200 eligible female students were identified in the dormitories of Alborz University of Medical Sciences. Based on the sample size estimation, 100 research units were divided into two groups of receiving counseling (intervention group) and not receiving counseling (control group) by four-digit block randomization. Sexual and reproductive health self-care questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection before, after and one month after intervention. Data were analyzed by using X² and ANOVA tests using SPSS (16).

Both groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic characteristics before the intervention. The results of the study indicated that after education, sexual and reproductive knowledge (p < 0.001), self-care of sexual health (p < 0.001), self-care of menstrual and genital health (p < 0.001) increased significantly. But, regarding parents' communications (p = 0.11), conversation barriers with parents (p = 0.83), interaction with (p = 0.79) and the perceptions of sexual risk behaviors relationships (p = 0.61) differences are not significant.

Failure of parents to participate in this study and the implementation of this study only on the female sex were main limitations of the present study.

Theory-based education can improve sexual and reproductive health in adolescents' girls.

All Authors declare the manuscript entitled “Sexual and reproductive health self-care: a theory-based intervention” is original work of the author. All data, tables, figures, etc. used in the manuscript are prepared originally by authors; otherwise, the sources are cited and reprint permission is attached.

Gives an account of a project run by Optimum Health Services NHS Trust offering attendance at mock sexual health clinics to young people attending schools in Lewisham and Southwark in South London. The mock clinics were set up after the authors visited Sweden on a study tour and observed similar projects in operation there. The principal aim of the mock sexual health clinics was to increase the access of family planning clinics to young people. The pilot project involved about 300 pupils from four schools, ranging from year 10 to year 12. Feedback from pupils showed that they enjoyed attending a clinic away from the school environment, learning how the clinic operated and about the issue of confidentiality, including separate record keeping by the clinic and general practitioners’ surgeries. The main problem identified was that one hour in length sessions were too short. Suggests that it could be useful to offer attendance at mock sexual health clinics for both teachers, as part of INSET training, and parents, particularly parents of pupils with learning disabilities. Emphasizes that all staff involved needed to work within the framework of each school’s sex education policy and existing legislation. Concludes that education and health services need to work in collaboration to ensure that sex education and sexual health services for young people are developed in conjunction with each other, as either one on its own is not sufficient.

In response to rising prevalence of sexually transmitted infection (STI) among teenagers, this study was designed to examine teenage perceptions of sex education, access to services, and attitudes relevant to STI.

A focus group study was conducted in three schools to discuss the sexual health needs of teenagers. Four single sex groups of 14‐15 year olds (two male and two female) comprising six to nine participants met for two one‐hour sessions. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed by two researchers.

Sex education was reported to vary considerably in quality and content both between and within schools. Participants felt that this was due to some teachers being embarrassed, resulting in didactic delivery and lack of discussion. Most participants had received very little information about STI, including how it could be avoided or what to do if infection was suspected. Many felt that it would be useful to have an organised visit to a sexual health/contraceptive clinic as part of the curriculum and that it would also be helpful if clinic staff contributed to their sex education.

Teachers selected participants based on their maturity and willingness to take part, which may have resulted in failure to include those in greatest need of sexual health services.

Teenagers need more comprehensive sex education at an earlier age, delivered by individuals who are expert in the subject and comfortable in its delivery. Information alone is not enough but should be linked to accessible user‐friendly services for contraception and general sexual health.

This paper provides information on teenage sexual health needs in general and to the field of STI in particular.

Sexuality education is a controversial and contested issue that has evoked wide debate on the question of its aims, contents, methods, pedagogy and desired outcomes. This editorial aims to provide a brief commentary, positioning the contributions to this Special Issue of Health Education within the research landscape concerning sexuality education in schools internationally.

The idea for this Special Issue was born in Odense, Denmark, in October 2012, during the 4th European Conference of Health Promoting Schools. The Conference Programme and the debates during the sessions demonstrated the need for a wider discussion of sexuality education, particularly within the framework of the health-promoting school. There was recognition of the need to endorse positive and wide socio-ecological views of health, including sexual health and a critical educational approach to sexuality education. The conference delegates and the members of the Schools for Health in Europe Research Network were invited to submit a paper for the Special Issue, and the invitation was also sent through other networks and research communities globally. The invitation resulted in papers being submitted beyond Europe and the Special Issue took an interesting global turn. This networking process also resulted in the identification of a number of key international subject-specific experts who took on the role of independent reviewers.

Following the review and editorial process six papers were accepted for the Special Issue. The papers highlight contrasts, tensions, potentials and barriers embedded in the ways sexuality education is delivered to children and young people internationally. Examples are drawn from Russia, Wales, China and the USA; they identify historical and structural issues related to the implementation of comprehensive progressive approaches. Topics discussed include the importance of appropriate content, theoretical/conceptual frameworks, modes of delivery, timing, attitudes from key stakeholders and the need for comprehensive evaluation of innovative approaches to the delivery of sexual education.

The Special Issue provides a unique blend of evaluations of practical examples of pioneering programmes, research using qualitative, quantitative and mixed method designs, and critical conceptual discussions related to sexuality education and factors that influence it. The Special Issue addresses sexuality education from a life course perspective; some of the individual papers focus on young children and some on lifelong learning. All the papers point to the importance of understanding structural, socio-historical, political and cultural factors influencing sexuality education.