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... for is likely to be of limited use, whereas acquiring knowledge about how to negotiate sexual limit setting, including abstinence from intercourse, condom use, and other safer sex practices, is directly relevant to problem-prevention behaviour. Motivation to engage in behaviour that promotes sexual health is a major determinant of whether individuals act upon their knowledge. This motivation can be affected by individuals's elf-acceptance of their sexual activity, their attitudes toward specific preventive acts, their perceptions of social support for such acts, and their feelings of personal vulnerability to sexual health problems.
For example, individuals who are well informed about the role of condoms in reducing the risk of HIV infection may have negative attitudes about condom use, and may perceive little social support for such behaviour. Positive attitudes toward preventive behaviour and perceptions of social support for such behaviour are crucial to determining whether individuals will avoid sexual problems and enhance their sexual Skills for doing specific problem-prevention behaviours are a third critical aspect of sexual health behaviour. Such skills affect whether a person, even when knowledgeable and highly motivated, will be able to maintain or modify his / her behaviour in order to avoid sexual problems and enhance sexual health. For example, behavioural skills training can increase an individual's ability to communicate with, and to be appropriately assertive with, a potential sexual partner. (For a fuller discussion of techniques to facilitate behavioural skills acquisition and practice, see W. A. Fisher, 1990 a, 1990 b, and Kelly & St.
Lawrence, 1988). HIV/AIDS risk-reduction education that combines information, motivational opportunities, and skill-building experiences has been successful in significantly reducing high-risk behaviour (Franzini et al. , 1990; Galavotti, Schnell, & O'Reilly, 1990; Gibson et al. , 1989; Jemmott, J. B. , Jemmott, L. S. , & Fong, 1992; Kelly et al. , 1989; Kelly et al. , 1990; Miller, 1990; Rother man-Borus, 1991; Solomon & DeJong, 1989; Valdiserri ct al. , 1989; Waiter &Vaughan, 1993). (For a comprehensive review of HIV/AIDS risk-reduction interventions targeting risky sexual behaviour, see J. D.
Fisher & Fisher, 1992; W. A. Fisher & Fisher, 1992) The success of this approach has also been demonstrated in pregnancy prevention among adolescents (Schinke, 1984; Schinke, Blythe, & Gilchrist, 1981) and college students (W. A. Fisher, 1990 b). There is indirect evidence that the environment affects sexual health behaviour and outcomes.
For example, Orton and Rosenblatt's (1991, 1993) studies of sexual health education and clinic services in Ontario showed that communities with concurrent access to both sexual health clinics and school-based sexuality education experienced more rapid declines in teen pregnancy rates than those that did not. The Alan Guttmacher Institute has cited evidence of environmental factors in developed countries that relate to low or high rates of adolescent pregnancy (Jones et al. , 1985). Zabin et al. (1986) found that the provision of services in consumers' local environments was related to a reduction in the adolescent pregnancy rate and to the delay of first intercourse. Effective sexual health education can help individuals develop an awareness of the environmental factors affecting their sexual health, to identify sexual health resources (for example, the location and hours of accessible clinics, referral and support services), and to establish such resources when they are lacking in the community. Environmental factors affecting sexual health behaviour include media portrayals of people having sexual intercourse with many partners, but suffering no negative consequences. Another example is the media's presenting male sexual aggression and female sexual passivity as normative.
The former factor can be countered by media-literacy education; the latter, by consciousness raising for both genders. Although the Canadian Guidelines for Sexual Health Education address a diversity of issues for a variety of groups with different needs, the research cited above strongly suggests that knowledge acquisition, motivational opportunities, skill-building experiences, and a supportive environment should all be present if sexual health education is to help individuals effectively avoid sexual problems and enhance sexual health. Sexual health is a major, positive aspect of personal health. Accordingly, sexual health education should be available to all Canadians as an important component of health promotion programs and services. The goals of such education are to help people achieve positive outcomes (e. g.
self-esteem, respect for self and others, non-exploitive sexual satisfaction, rewarding human relationships, the joy of desired parenthood) and to avoid negative outcomes (e. g. unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, sexual coercion, sexual dysfunction). Achievement of these goals would represent a major advance for the sexual health of Canadians. The term "sexual health" is defined by the World Health Organization as: "[Sexual health is]...
the integration of the physical, emotional, intellectual and social aspects of sexual being, in ways that are positively enriching and that enhance personality, communication and love. " Sexual health education is concerned with the well-being of the individual while recognizing that individuals have responsibilities to, and are affected by, each other and by the social environment in which they live. Sexual health education is one important aspect of health promotion. Sexual health education helps individuals achieve positive and avoid negative outcomes of sexual expression. It employs a combination of learning experiences including access to age-appropriate information, motivational supports, and opportunities to develop the skills needed for individual sexual adjustment and for satisfying interpersonal relationships. Sexual health education is a broadly based, community-wide activity requiring the full participation of the educational, medical, public health, social welfare and legal Sexual health education enables individuals, couples, families and communities to develop the knowledge, motivation, skills, and critical awareness needed to enhance sexual health and to avoid sexual problems. Significant positive effects on individual sexual health choices and practices can result from educational programs that integrate these components of sexual health education.
Sexual health education maintains an open dialogue that respects individual beliefs and is sensitive to the needs of the two sexes and to the diversity of ethno-cultural traditions and religious backgrounds in Canadian society. The term "sexuality" is used here in the broad sense intended by the World Health Organization: "Sexuality is an integral part of the personality of everyone: man, woman and child. It is a basic need and aspect of being human that cannot be separated from other aspects of life. " In this view, sexuality encompasses the physical, physiological, psychological, social, emotional, cultural and ethical dimensions of sex and gender. "Sexuality influences thoughts, feelings, actions and interactions and thereby our mental and physical health. Since health is a fundamental human right, so must sexual health also be a basic human right. " (WHO, 1975; Langfeldt and Porter, 1986).
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Research essay sample on World Health Organization Negative Outcomes
