Introduction
The maintenance of sexual health has become an integral part of people’s lives, and it is closely connected to both physical and mental health (Evcili & Demirel, 2018). The lack of understanding of sexual health leads to many problems such as low self-esteem and distrust of a partner. Nowadays, nurses practice extensive sexual health promotion to their patients, and they usually visit schools to improve students’ knowledge on this topic. They believe that by educating more people, most of the social problems will be solved.
Sexual Education among Teenagers
Sexual education in the USA’s schools has changed significantly over the past 50 years. The issue of increasing teenage pregnancy began to concern the government, and in 1966 the U.S. Department of Education decided to develop programs of sexual health education. President Nixon supported this idea and stated that sex is a healthy part of a human’s life which should not lose its concept in the eyes of teenagers (Rabbitte & Enriquez, 2018).
Nurses, along with parents, play a significant role in presenting information about sexual health. However, for a long time, nurses viewed patients as simply physiological objects that must learn everything independently. It severely hindered the introduction of sexual health in society (Evcili & Demirel, 2018). Ignorance of the increasing level of sexual education can lead to a doubled problem of teenage pregnancies and abortions and an unwillingness to have sexual contact. Nurses are the first people in teenagers’ lives who provide an initial understanding of sexuality, and parents’ contributions should extend this basic knowledge. Consequently, it is the responsibility of a nurse to educate parents on how to talk to children about this topic properly.
Conclusion
Nurses always care for teenagers and are ready to teach sexual health to prevent adverse outcomes. Teenagers are becoming more interested in understanding sexual health, and social problems are successfully resolving.
References
Evcili, F. & Demirel, G. (2018). Patient’s sexual health and nursing: A neglected area. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 11(2), 1282 – 1288.
Rabbitte, M. & Enriquez, M. (2018). The role of policy on sexual health education in schools: Review. The Journal of School Nursing, 35(1), pp. 27-38.