Problem Statement and Thesis
The influence of sexual and reproductive health literacy on health outcomes of individuals could hardly be underestimated in the contemporary public health sector. However, it should be stated that the particular focus on the role of sexual and reproductive health education in the adaption of women in society is not largely covered in current scholarly literature. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to conduct research on the identified topic in order to retrieve meaningful insights from selected academic literature works. The study dwells upon the following thesis: the participation of women in sexual and reproductive health education can increase their level of adaptation in society as well as direct health and behavioral outcomes significantly.
Hypothesis
For the proper foundation of this study, it is essential to develop a hypothesis that will correlate with the thesis statement. The following research hypothesis is suggested: females (including adolescents, young adults, and adults) who are involved in various educational programs aimed to increase their level of sexual and reproductive health literacy, tend to develop a more comprehensive understanding of their sexual behavior patterns. The null hypothesis for this study is that the exposure to such an educational program does not have any positive effects on the level of women’s well-being and adaptation in society.
Research Questions
In order to guide research appropriately, several research questions should be developed. The main of them is formulated as follows: how is the topic of sexual and reproductive health literacy and its impact on women’s adaptation in the society presented in contemporary scholarly literature? Also, the following sub-research questions are suggested: is there enough attention paid to the identified topic in current academic literature? What are specific insights related to women’s participation in sexual and reproductive health education? What are the gaps in current scholarly literature and what are the implications and guidelines for further research on the topic?
Key Words and Phrases for the Research
The following keywords and phrases were used while conducting online research for the academic literature on the topic: sexual health, reproductive health, literacy, women, adaptation, influence, the United States.
Literature Review
Comprehensive Analysis of the Data
Four scholarly articles were selected in the process of online research. The first two items under consideration are dedicated to a highly important topic of incarcerated women, their access to sexual health literacy, and current sexual health practices. The first study, conducted by Fogel et al. (2015), focuses on such an area of concern as HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. The authors conducted a randomized control trial on the sample of 521 women in order to investigate the efficiency of educational interventions by comparing two control groups (Fogel et al., 2015). Additionally, the scholars followed up the participants at 3 and 6 months after release (Fogel et al., 2015). In general, the study is comprehensive and critical enough for the identified area of concern.
The second article dwells upon a relatively similar topic, but its authors’ focus is narrower than in the previous work since the population group of incarcerated black women in the southern USA is chosen for the analysis (Pelligrino, Zaitzow, Sothern, Scribner, & Phillippi, 2017). However, these scholars employ the literature review methodology as they investigate scholarly literature on the topic in a considerably large time span from 1995 to May 2015 (Pelligrino et al., 2017).
The primary scope of Pelligrino et al.’s (2017) research is represented by various social factors that influence the sexual health of the chosen population group, including education on HIV and STI prevention. Also, the authors are particularly concerned with such concepts as cultural competence, cultural sensitivity, gender specificity, and stable relationships.
The third article under consideration is related to the question of the digital technologies’ impact on the improvement of sexual education and HIV prevention among female adolescents and adults in the United States (Blackstock, Patel, & Cunningham, 2015). One of the authors’ primary assumptions is that technology-based delivery of educational information has the immense potential for positive change in the area of concern (Blackstock et al., 2015).
The authors mention that research in the field of HIV prevention is primarily focused on adolescents and men who have sex with men while young and adult women are not specifically and sufficiently targeted by the investigation and analysis (Blackstock et al., 2015).
Finally, the fourth article represents an interesting perspective on the identified area of concern. The authors dwell upon the investigation of how adolescents use the Internet resources to retrieve the information about sexual and reproductive health (von Rosen, von Rosen, Tinnemann, & Müller-Riemenschneider, 2017). Despite the fact that this study is not exclusively focused on women since the research sample is evenly distributed in terms of gender, the article provides particularly significant insights on how women’s perspective on sexual health education is different from men’s (von Rosen et al., 2017).
Review of the Validity of the Data and the Findings
All of the reviewed articles seem valid. Findings presented in the reviewed sources are reliable due to the number of participants or relevant studies included in the investigation. Two sources are in the form of a literature review. The article by Blackstock et al. (2015) suggests the overview of scholarly sources published over four and a half years. Pelligrino et al. (2017) analyze the literature published in the period between 1995 and 2015. Other two articles are research studies with the sufficient number of participants. Fogel et al. (2015) enrolled 521 respondents in their trial. Von Rosen et al. (2017) convinced as many as 1177 students to participate in their study.
Assessment of the Relevance of the Sources
In relation to the thesis, the most relevant studies are the ones by Fogel et al. (2015) and Pelligrino et al. (2017). These articles focus on the adaptation techniques for women. The study by Blackstock et al. (2015) relates to the part of the thesis that focuses on reproductive and sexual health education. However, this source lacks relevance to the adaptation part. Research by von Rosen et al. (2017) also focuses on education and does not consider the issue of adaptation.
Personal Contribution
Each of the reviewed articles analyzes data to the necessary extent and addresses the ideas stated in its abstract. However, a new problem emerges as a result of the literature review. Not all of the articles are concentrated on women’s adaptation. What is more, those that are focused on this issue only investigate the adaptation technique of incarcerated women. However, there are other groups of females that undergo adaptation in the society. For instance, it is necessary to analyze the adjustment of women who have suffered from assault or those whose sexual health education has been limited by their family or religious traditions.
References
Blackstock, O. J., Patel, V. V., & Cunningham, C. O. (2015). Use of technology for HIV prevention among adolescent and adult women in the United States. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 12(4), 489-499.
Fogel, C. I., Crandell, J. L., Neevel, A. M., Parker, S. D., Carry, M., White, B. L.,… Gelaude, D. J. (2015). Efficacy of an adapted HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention intervention for incarcerated women: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Public Health, 105(4), 802-809.
Pelligrino, N., Zaitzow, B. H., Sothern, M., Scribner, R., & Phillippi, S. (2017). Incarcerated black women in the Southern USA: A narrative review of STI and HIV risk and implications for future public health research, practice, and policy. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(1), 9-18.
Von Rosen, A. J., von Rosen, F. T., Tinnemann, P., & Müller-Riemenschneider, F. (2017). Sexual health and the Internet: Cross-sectional study of online preferences among adolescents. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(11), e379.