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Factors affecting sexual health-seeking behaviors of young people

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Abstract

Aim

This study was conducted to investigate sexual health-seeking behaviors of young people and factors affecting these behaviors.

Methods

In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, the sample consisted of 1502 students studying at a university.

Results

A statistically significant difference was found between the sexual health knowledge levels of young people and their age, gender, type of school, family type, income status, mostly lived place, parental education and sexual health education (p < 0.05). When young people experience a problem related to sexual health, the behavior of seeking sexual health varies according to gender, type of school, education, and training place of sexual health (p < 0.05). There is a statistically significant difference between the young people’s behavior of seeking sexual health and sexual health knowledge levels (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Sexual health information is an important factor that affects sexual health-seeking behavior. Being female increases the state of showing sexual health-seeking behavior. In this study, it was found that young people’s sexual health education increases their sexual health-seeking behavior. As the sexual health knowledge of young people increases, their behavior of seeking sexual health increases.

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Data are available in any case the data can be presented.

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Funding

This study was supported by Eskisehir Osmangazi University Scientific Research Projects Commission under project number 201942D12. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, 26040, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Elif Gursoy & Havva Yesildere Saglam

Authors
  1. Elif Gursoy
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  2. Havva Yesildere Saglam
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Contributions

EG and HYS conceived the research idea. EG, HYS, designed the study and analyzed the data. EG, HYS interpreted the results and drafted the manuscript. EG participated in re-revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Havva Yesildere Saglam.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

For the applicability of the study, approval was obtained from KTO Karatay University Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Research Ethics Committee with permission number 2018/007. Written permission was obtained from the institution for the participants, and for the availability of the scales, from the scale owners.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all the students included in the study.

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Not applicable.

Conflicts of interest/competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Gursoy, E., Yesildere Saglam, H. Factors affecting sexual health-seeking behaviors of young people. J Public Health (Berl.) 30, 2899–2910 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01508-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01508-y

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