The state of sexuality education in baccalaureate nursing programs

Abstract

Background: There is a great deal of consensus about the need for sexuality education in nursing education programs, however the current state of sexuality education in the United States in terms of the content and amount of time dedicated to sexuality content has not been examined since 1976.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe the amount and focus of sexuality content currently taught and to identify the barriers to the inclusion of sexuality education in baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States.

Design: This is an exploratory, descriptive study.

Settings: Data was gathered from nurse educators across the United States.

Participants: Nurse educators who teach in baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States.

Methods: Online email survey with closed and open questions. Open responses were categorized and counted.

Results: The current state of sexuality education in nursing programs in the United States was examined and found to be lacking consistent and adequate information. Only 16% of nurse educator participants believe their students are prepared to deal with sexuality issues in the clients they work with and 27% report that sexuality content is not part of their curriculum. Some programs do not cover content such as LGBT sexual health, normal sexual function, and taking a sexual history. Barriers to sexuality education include lack of time, higher priority given to other content, and lack of comfort with the topic.

Conclusions: Sexuality education in nursing programs is lacking and this oversight prevents the adequate education of nursing students. This lack of adequate sexuality content highlights the need for standardization of sexuality education in nursing curricula so that nursing students can learn to provide truly holistic care of clients.

Keywords: Holistic nursing care; Human sexuality; Nursing education; Undergraduate.