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Impact of Sexual Health Counselling on Sexual Health Knowledge among Female Undergraduates in Nigeria

Abstract

Sexual health knowledge is an important component of the health and wellbeing of young women because it supports informed decisions concerning sexual relationships, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), contraception, HIV prevention, pregnancy prevention, and appropriate healthcare-seeking. Female undergraduates may experience sexual and reproductive health challenges while having varying levels of access to accurate and confidential sexual health information. In Nigeria, inadequate sexuality education, cultural and social beliefs, stigma, misinformation, peer influence, and limited access to youth-friendly healthcare services may contribute to gaps in sexual health knowledge among female university students. Sexual health counselling provides an opportunity to deliver accurate, confidential, and individualized information on sexual and reproductive health and to address misconceptions and concerns. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of sexual health counselling on sexual health knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Theory of Planned Behavior. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of susceptibility to sexual health problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of sexual health counselling, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their acquisition of sexual health knowledge. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes learning through education, observation, social interaction, self-efficacy, and environmental influences. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control may influence sexual health-related decision-making and the application of acquired knowledge. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how sexual health counselling may influence sexual health knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise female undergraduate students enrolled in selected universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, universities, faculties, departments, and eligible female students. Sexual health counselling will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to individual or group counselling, frequency and duration of counselling sessions, quality and completeness of information provided, counsellor availability, privacy, confidentiality, and counselling content covering STI prevention, HIV prevention, contraception, pregnancy prevention, sexual consent, safer sexual practices, reproductive health, and appropriate healthcare-seeking. Sexual health knowledge will be assessed using participants' understanding of STI transmission and prevention, HIV prevention, contraceptive methods, pregnancy prevention, safer sexual practices, sexual consent, reproductive health, symptoms requiring professional assessment, and available sexual health services. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires and appropriate sexual health knowledge assessment instruments. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to sexual health counselling, and levels of sexual health knowledge. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of sexual health counselling on sexual health knowledge. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, sexual health knowledge scores before and after counselling will be compared to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that sexual health counselling has a significant positive impact on sexual health knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. Female students who receive structured, confidential, and evidence-based sexual health counselling are expected to demonstrate higher levels of knowledge regarding STI and HIV prevention, contraception, pregnancy prevention, safer sexual practices, sexual consent, reproductive health, and appropriate healthcare-seeking than students with limited exposure to counselling. Counselling may provide an opportunity to address individual misconceptions, clarify sensitive sexual health concerns, and provide information tailored to students' needs. Improved knowledge may also increase students' confidence in accessing appropriate sexual health services and making informed reproductive health decisions. However, stigma, cultural beliefs, embarrassment, fear of judgment, misinformation from peers and social media, limited availability of trained counsellors, and concerns about confidentiality may reduce the effectiveness of sexual health counselling. The study therefore expects accessible, confidential, culturally sensitive, evidence-based, and youth-friendly sexual health counselling to contribute significantly to improved sexual health knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on sexual health counselling, sexual health knowledge, female undergraduates, sexual and reproductive health, STI prevention, HIV prevention, contraception, comprehensive sexuality education, university health services, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university health centres, student affairs departments, healthcare providers, counsellors, nurses, reproductive health educators, women's health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving sexual health knowledge among female undergraduates. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating sexual health counselling into university health services, training qualified and youth-friendly counsellors, strengthening confidential counselling systems, developing culturally appropriate educational materials, improving access to accurate sexual health information, and promoting informed sexual and reproductive health decision-making among female undergraduates across Nigeria.

Keywords: Sexual health counselling, sexual health knowledge, female undergraduates, sexual and reproductive health, STI prevention, HIV prevention, contraception, comprehensive sexuality education, university health services, reproductive health, Nigeria, public health.