Podcasts and Their Potential to Improve Sexual Health Literacy in Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Low health literacy poses many problems in the public health field and is linked to numerous negative health outcomes, including STIs and unplanned pregnancies. While many interventions focus on giving adolescents and young adults access to comprehensive sex education, these interventions do not necessarily improve sexual health literacy, which is a major asset to improving sexual health. Learning the skills to access, understand, and use sexual health information can compensate for the deficit of comprehensive sex education in the U.S. and worldwide. One innovative way this issue can be addressed is through the use of educational sexual health podcasts. Podcasts are a proven, effective tool to disseminate health information to a large population of people. They can be particularly useful in increasing sexual health literacy by increasing access by eliminating logistical barriers and embarrassment and confidentiality issues.

Keywords:

• Health literacy
• sexual health education
• podcasts
• education modalities
• social media
• health communication