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This study examines how sexual health knowledge and literacy influence nursing students' attitudes toward sexual health care.

April 25, 2026

The Effects of Nursing Students’ Sexual Health Knowledge and Sexual Health Literacy on Their Attitudes Toward Sexual Health Care

Key Points

This study examines how sexual health knowledge and literacy influence nursing students' attitudes toward sexual health care.
Descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted with 290 undergraduate nursing students.
Data collected using online questionnaires including specific scales for health knowledge and literacy.
Statistical analyses included t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, and hierarchical regression.
Sexual health literacy was identified as the strongest predictor of attitudes, explaining 29.3% of the variance.
Sexual health knowledge had a limited effect, with no significant increase in explained variance beyond school year and perceived sufficiency.
Attitudes were also associated with educational progression and perceived competence in sexual health knowledge.

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to examine the effects of sexual health knowledge and sexual health literacy on nursing students’ attitudes toward sexual health care and to identify the sociodemographic and educational factors associated with these attitudes. Material and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 290 undergraduate nursing students between January 20 and February 20, 2025. Data were collected through an online questionnaire including a Semi-Structured Data Collection Form, the Sexual Health Knowledge Test, the Sexual Health Literacy Scale, and the Students’ Attitudes toward Addressing Sexual Health Scale. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed. Results: Participants had a mean age of 21.99±1.74 years, and 83.4% were female. Attitude scores were significantly associated with school year, sexual health training, perceived sufficiency of sexual health knowledge, sexual health knowledge, and sexual health literacy. In the hierarchical regression analysis, Model 1 explained 16.2% of the variance, with school year and perceived sufficiency being significant predictors. Adding sexual health knowledge in Model 2 raised the variance only to 17.1% and was not significant. In Model 3, sexual health literacy increased the explained variance to 29.3% and became the strongest predictor.Conclusions: The findings indicate that sexual health literacy plays a central role in shaping nursing students’ attitudes toward sexual health care, surpassing the effects of knowledge alone. Educational progression and perceived competence also contribute significantly. Enhancing sexual health literacy within nursing curricula may be essential for preparing students to deliver confident, sensitive, and patient-centered sexual health care.Implication for nursing practice: Strengthening sexual health literacy within nursing curricula may enhance students’ readiness to provide confident, sensitive, and patient-centered sexual health care.

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