Effect of a Socio-educational Intervention on Sexual Health in Young University Students: Randomized Clinical Trial

The sexual health is considered as a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality that requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality, as well as the possibility of having pleasant and safe sexual experiences, free from all coercion, discrimination and violence. However, lack of family planning, having unprotected sex, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, Sexually Transmitted Infections, lack of acceptance of sexual identity, sexism, having multiple sexual partners and having sex under the influence of alcohol and drugs are some of the main elements that alter the well-being of people's sexual health, especially in the young population. In this sense, different organizations have pointed out the importance of promoting in young people strategies related to providing an adequate level of knowledge in sexual health from a perspective of the exercise of sexual rights to reduce alterations in risky sexual practices and it has been identified that the school environment can be the ideal space for a health services approach to this age group to strengthen their well-being and ensure their development during adulthood. However, the sexual health interventions traditionally implemented by the health services are usually aimed mainly at transmitting knowledge about the benefits of condom use, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and violence, excluding other elements that make up the sexual health and making use of conventional educational strategies through print media or short educational sessions, which causes little interaction between health personnel and users that consolidates the purpose of the interventions. That said, the implementation of a socio-educational intervention in sexual health that promotes sexual rights, positive attitudes towards sexuality and the prevention of risky sexual behaviors articulated in a model of a life project that motivates them to achieve the ideal stage of life for starting a family in a healthy way through family planning, can promote the strengthening not only of their sexual health but also their well-being for their future development as adults.