Access of Sexual Health Services Among University Students in the Maritimes

As young adults move away from home for the first time to pursue a university education, the opportunities to participate in high-risk behaviours, such as drinking, using drugs, and risky sexual activity become more frequent. High-risk sexual activity is known to result in negative sexual health outcomes including sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In the past decade, rates of STIs, have increased dramatically among males and females aged 20-24. Research examining the barriers and facilitators to university student's access to sexual health services, such as STI testing, sexual health promotion and family planning is limited. The few studies that have explored these issues indicate, that overall use of sexual health services among students is poor. It remains unclear however, why students are not using sexual health services to their fullest extent. The proposed mixed methods research will include a secondary analysis of data collected from eight universities across Maritime Canada (n= 10,631) about sexual health behaviours of students. Interviews and focus will be conducted with a select group of students and health care providers to provide a comprehensive overview of the barriers and facilitators to sexual health services. These findings will lead to the design of interventions to improve the access to and use of sexual health services especially for high-risk, university student populations.