Exploring and improving sexual health literacy: Insights from sexual health experts.

Sexual health literacy is understudied and lacks reliable and valid measures, representing a gap in the literature.

• The authors identified a 'dearth of reliable and valid SHL measures' in the existing literature.
• The study was framed as part of a larger project specifically aimed at informing SHL scale development.
• Robinson's Sexual Health Model was used as the guiding theoretical framework for the study.

The study sample consisted entirely of eight cisgender women professionals with sexual health expertise.

• All eight participants identified as cisgender women.
• Participants were described as professionals with sexual health expertise.
• Each participant completed an hour-long semi-structured virtual interview.
• The homogeneous gender composition of the sample is a notable characteristic of the participant group.

Thematic analysis of expert interviews revealed perceived gaps in sexual health literacy among the general population.

• Data were collected via semi-structured virtual interviews that were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.
• Gaps in SHL were identified as a key theme emerging from expert perspectives.
• The qualitative design allowed for in-depth exploration of expert opinions on SHL deficiencies.

Experts identified both facilitators and barriers to promoting sexual health literacy.

• Facilitators and barriers to SHL promotion emerged as a distinct thematic category from the analysis.
• These findings were derived from the perspectives of professionals with sexual health expertise.
• Specific facilitators and barriers were not enumerated in the abstract but were identified through thematic analysis.

Experts provided considerations for assessing sexual health literacy that will inform scale development.

• Considerations for assessing SHL constituted a third major theme from the analysis.
• These considerations are intended to directly guide the development of a SHL scale as part of a larger project.
• Findings were noted to offer insight into sexual health promotion among diverse populations.

The findings are intended to inform sexual health promotion efforts among diverse populations.

• Authors state findings 'offer insight into sexual health promotion among diverse populations.'
• The study situates SHL within the broader context of physical and mental wellbeing.
• The qualitative findings are positioned as a foundational step toward the creation of a validated SHL measurement tool.