Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT Background and Aims The COVID‐19 pandemic has greatly disrupted adolescents' access to sexual health services, resulting in a decline in their overall sexual well‐being. This systematic review explored adolescent sexual health during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A systematic review o...
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Health Science Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70774 |
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| author | Elahe Ahmadnia Arezoo Haseli Atefeh Davoudian Mina Abbasi |
| author_facet | Elahe Ahmadnia Arezoo Haseli Atefeh Davoudian Mina Abbasi |
| author_sort | Elahe Ahmadnia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Background and Aims The COVID‐19 pandemic has greatly disrupted adolescents' access to sexual health services, resulting in a decline in their overall sexual well‐being. This systematic review explored adolescent sexual health during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A systematic review of quantitative studies—including observational research, clinical trials, and quasi‐experimental interventions—examined English‐language articles published between January 2020 and February 10, 2025, sourced from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle−Ottawa Scale (NOS) for observational studies, Cochrane RoB 2 for clinical trials, and ROBINS‐1 for quasi‐experimental designs. Due to the heterogeneity of the data. Results After identifying 781 articles, 10 studies with a total sample size of 636,873 participants were included in the final systematic review. Observational studies during the COVID‐19 pandemic revealed diminished access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, greater dependence on informal information sources, widening health inequalities, and negative impacts on adolescent sexual behavior. Intervention studies on online SRH education demonstrate significant positive impacts across key areas: access to SRH services, safe sex practices, communication with parents about sexual health, lower acceptance of dating violence, normative beliefs regarding adolescent sexuality, HIV/STI awareness, and condom use. The findings emphasize notable improvements in communication, knowledge, and attitudes toward sexual health, driven by these targeted interventions. Conclusion The COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted adolescent SRH globally, reducing service access and amplifying inequities. While some behaviors (e.g., sexual activity) showed resilience, systemic gaps in education and healthcare persist. Multisectoral efforts are needed to ensure adolescents' SRH rights are upheld during crises. However, the interventional studies underscore the viability of digital, media‐literate interventions in improving adolescent sexual health. Trial Registration The review study was officially registered on the PROSPERO website on 02/08/2023 under the code CRD42023438631 and received approval from the jury. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0d061c21888e4541b37ceb25c6f9a77c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2398-8835 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Science Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-0d061c21888e4541b37ceb25c6f9a77c2025-08-20T03:39:21ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352025-05-0185n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.70774Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic ReviewElahe Ahmadnia0Arezoo Haseli1Atefeh Davoudian2Mina Abbasi3Department of Midwifery School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences Zanjan IranFamily Health and Population Growth Research Center, Health Policy and Promotion Research Institute Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences Kermanshah IranDeputy of Research and Technology Zanjan University of Medical Sciences Zanjan IranDepartment of Midwifery School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences Zanjan IranABSTRACT Background and Aims The COVID‐19 pandemic has greatly disrupted adolescents' access to sexual health services, resulting in a decline in their overall sexual well‐being. This systematic review explored adolescent sexual health during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A systematic review of quantitative studies—including observational research, clinical trials, and quasi‐experimental interventions—examined English‐language articles published between January 2020 and February 10, 2025, sourced from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle−Ottawa Scale (NOS) for observational studies, Cochrane RoB 2 for clinical trials, and ROBINS‐1 for quasi‐experimental designs. Due to the heterogeneity of the data. Results After identifying 781 articles, 10 studies with a total sample size of 636,873 participants were included in the final systematic review. Observational studies during the COVID‐19 pandemic revealed diminished access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, greater dependence on informal information sources, widening health inequalities, and negative impacts on adolescent sexual behavior. Intervention studies on online SRH education demonstrate significant positive impacts across key areas: access to SRH services, safe sex practices, communication with parents about sexual health, lower acceptance of dating violence, normative beliefs regarding adolescent sexuality, HIV/STI awareness, and condom use. The findings emphasize notable improvements in communication, knowledge, and attitudes toward sexual health, driven by these targeted interventions. Conclusion The COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted adolescent SRH globally, reducing service access and amplifying inequities. While some behaviors (e.g., sexual activity) showed resilience, systemic gaps in education and healthcare persist. Multisectoral efforts are needed to ensure adolescents' SRH rights are upheld during crises. However, the interventional studies underscore the viability of digital, media‐literate interventions in improving adolescent sexual health. Trial Registration The review study was officially registered on the PROSPERO website on 02/08/2023 under the code CRD42023438631 and received approval from the jury.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.707742019 nCoV infectionSARS coronavirus 2 infectionsexualityteenageryouths |
| spellingShingle | Elahe Ahmadnia Arezoo Haseli Atefeh Davoudian Mina Abbasi Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review Health Science Reports 2019 nCoV infection SARS coronavirus 2 infection sexuality teenager youths |
| title | Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Adolescents' Sexual Health During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | adolescents sexual health during the covid 19 outbreak a systematic review |
| topic | 2019 nCoV infection SARS coronavirus 2 infection sexuality teenager youths |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70774 |
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