College Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions Related to Sexually Transmitted Infections and Educational Strategies: A Scoping Review

Abstract

A scoping review of qualitative, quantitative, and systematic reviews published between 2011 and 2021 was conducted on strategies to educate college students and studies investigating students’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about sexually transmitted infections (STI). This scoping review aims to understand college students’ STI knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and educational strategies employed to educate them about STIs. A total of 329 articles from different countries were examined. Fourteen of these articles were used in this review. The consensus was that college students need comprehensive sexual health education regardless of previous school-based sex education. Interventions included STI information, information on how to use condoms, where to obtain them, and how to talk to a partner about their use. Peer-led education reported the most successful outcomes. Understanding how college students feel about STIs can aid in developing educational interventions that are more specific to the student’s needs.

Keywords:

• Sexually transmitted infections
• education
• college students

Acknowledgments

I want to thank T. Robin Bartlett, Ph.D., RN, for editing this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.