A sexual health course for advanced practice registered nurses: Effect on preparedness, comfort, and confidence in delivering comprehensive care

Abstract

BackgroundSexual healthcare is a critical component of well-being. Sexual health disparities persist nationally. Nurses and advanced practice nurses are well positioned to provide sexual healthcare to diverse patient populations. However, many nurses do not feel prepared to provide comprehensive care and sexual health curricula vary widely across schools of nursing. ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a new sexual health course for graduate students in improving nurses' knowledge, preparedness, comfort, and confidence in delivering comprehensive, culturally informed sexual healthcare. DesignA pre-post-intervention survey study design was utilized to assess course effectiveness. SettingMedium-sized, private university. ParticipantsGraduate nursing students enrolled in the course (intervention group, n = 30) were recruited. Graduate students enrolled at the institution but not enrolled in the course served as controls (n = 64). MethodsDescriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were used to evaluate pre- to post-course changes in knowledge, preparedness, comfort, and confidence in the intervention group and differences between the intervention and control group at baseline. ResultsAt baseline, all participants (n = 94) exhibited high objective clinical sexual health knowledge. The intervention group had significantly increased overall preparedness, comfort, and confidence in providing sexual healthcare to diverse patient populations. In particular, participants in the intervention group had statistically significant increases associated with care for marginalized minority populations (sexual minorities, gender minorities, sex workers, and persons with a history of sexual trauma). ConclusionsThe graduate-level course on sexual health and sexual health disparities effectively increased perceived preparedness, comfort, and confidence in delivering comprehensive and culturally informed care to diverse populations. Nursing programs should evaluate their curricula to determine whether graduates are optimally prepared.