What sexual and reproductive health issues do young people want to discuss with a doctor, and why haven’t they done so? Findings from an online survey

Objective

Young people are a priority group for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care. We considered which SRH topics young Australians want to discuss with a general practitioner (GP) and explored barriers they encounter to discussing these issues.

Methods

We conducted an online survey (2nd May – 21st June 2022) of Australians aged 16–29 years. Participants were asked to identify from a list of SRH topics which they wanted to discuss, but never had, with a GP. Those who selected any topic/s (with ‘undiscussed SRH issues’) were asked a free-text follow-up question about what prevented them from discussing issues. We explored characteristics associated with having undiscussed issues using multivariate logistic regression. Free-text comments were analysed using content analysis.

Results

A total of 1887 people completed relevant survey questions. Most (67.1 %) were women and 48.5 % were heterosexual. Two-thirds (67.0 %) had a usual GP. Nearly half (45.6 %) had undiscussed issues. Most commonly, women wanted to discuss cervical screening and sexual problems, and men wanted to discuss sexual problems and STIs. Participants who were male, older, heterosexual, and with a usual GP were least likely to have undiscussed issues. Barriers to accessing care for SRH were identified from free-text comments, including discomfort, lack of opportunity, fear of negative outcomes, low priority of SRH issues, and perceptions about the role and expertise of GPs.

Conclusions

Many young people would welcome more preventative SRH care. Young people may be reassured that all issues, including sexual difficulties and dysfunction, are appropriate to discuss with a GP.