Gender Differences in Sexual Health Knowledge Among Emerging Adults in Acute-Care Settings

• Published in: Journal of Osteopathic Medicine (Online) 2019-05, Vol.119 (5), p.289-298
• Main Authors: Burrell, Carmen N., Sharon, Melinda J., Bassler, John, Davidov, Danielle M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Child development; Female; Gender; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Male; Prospective Studies; Sex Factors; Sexual health; Sexual Health - education; sexually transmitted disease; sexually transmitted infection; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2702-3648; 0098-6151; 2702-3648; 1945-1997
• DOI: 10.7556/jaoa.2019.050

Emerging adults (aged 18-25 years) are increasingly seeking evaluation in acute-care clinics for sexual health-related concerns to receive treatment and education. To assess the sexual health knowledge of emerging adult patients by gender at acute-care health centers. A prospective, self-administered survey was distributed from August 2014 through May 2016 to patients aged 18 to 24 years who presented to 1 of 4 acute-care locations in a university town in a mid-Atlantic state. Analyses included descriptive statistics, as well as χ2 and Fisher exact test crosstabulations to determine differences between genders. A total of 388 patients aged 18 to 24 years responded to the survey, with 81% of the sample identifying themselves as students and 64% identifying as female. Women were more likely than men to state that they sought sexual health advice at an urgent-care or walk-in clinic (70.3% vs 52.1%; P