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Scoping Review of Sexual Health Education Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities

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Abstract

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) may experience greater risk of sexually transmitted infections, higher rates of sexual abuse, and decreased sexual health knowledge, emphasizing the need for accessible, comprehensive sexual health education. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify the extent and nature of sexual health education interventions among individuals with I/DD ages 15–24 years. Six studies were included in the review. They investigated sexual health interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and mild I/DD, covered a wide range of topics (e.g. puberty, healthy relationships), included multiple learning activities (e.g. illustrations, activity-based learning), and measured behavior and sexual health knowledge outcomes. Future research is needed in this area to assess intervention effectiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University, 453 W 10th Ave., Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Elizabeth K. Schmidt

  2. School of Medicine, Division of Occupational Therapy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA

    Christopher Brown & Amy Darragh

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  1. Elizabeth K. Schmidt
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Correspondence to Elizabeth K. Schmidt.

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Conflicts of interest

Ms. Schmidt has intramural research grants from the Ohio State University to support a study analyzing the opinions of health care providers, educators, parents, and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities regarding sexual health education and to develop interactive learning activities to facilitate effective education. She also has received honorariums to present on the need for effective sexual health education among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy and ContinueEd.com.

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This review did not consist of human subjects research.

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Schmidt, E.K., Brown, C. & Darragh, A. Scoping Review of Sexual Health Education Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities. Sex Disabil 38, 439–453 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-019-09593-4

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