학술논문

Communicating about sex when it matters: a content analytic investigation of sexual health information on college student health center websites.
Document Type
Article
Source
Journal of Applied Communication Research. Nov2019, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p591-610. 20p.
Subject
Student health
Sexual health
Health websites
Sexually transmitted diseases
Language
ISSN
0090-9882
Abstract
Young adults struggle to achieve sexual health. Student health centers (SHCs) are uniquely positioned to provide young adults with credible and complete sexual health information. Using the comprehensive model of information seeking for theoretical guidance, we conducted a content analysis to examine the credibility and completeness of sexual health information available to young adults through SHC websites at 400 randomly selected U.S. colleges/universities. Unfortunately, most SHC websites do not provide complete sexual health information, which may decrease the credibility of SHCs as a source of sexual health information for young adults. Topics related to sexual health predominantly focused on prevention and risk topics (i.e. sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, and pregnancy). We offer practical suggestions for SHC webpages to align their sexual health information content with the American College Health Association standards of practice and point to a scholarly focus on content characteristics and information availability to complement information seeking studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]