Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study

ObjectivesThis study aims to explore the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare.MethodsA mixed-methods research design was employed on a sample of 247 Saudi female undergraduate nursing students using a non-probability sampling technique that incorporated a...

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Main Authors: Wafa Almegewly, Rasha Mohammed Hussein, Mahmoud Abdelwahab Khedr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1513090/full
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author Wafa Almegewly
Rasha Mohammed Hussein
Mahmoud Abdelwahab Khedr
author_facet Wafa Almegewly
Rasha Mohammed Hussein
Mahmoud Abdelwahab Khedr
author_sort Wafa Almegewly
collection DOAJ
description ObjectivesThis study aims to explore the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare.MethodsA mixed-methods research design was employed on a sample of 247 Saudi female undergraduate nursing students using a non-probability sampling technique that incorporated a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. The participants completed an online questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics and the Sexual Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (SABS), two open-ended questions asking about the reasons for denying sexual healthcare and related issues.ResultsThe study found that nursing students had a poor attitude towards discussing sexuality as essential to patients’ health outcomes, with a mean score of 2.3 (SD = 1.4). Correlational analyses revealed a significantly high positive correlation between age and year of the program (r = 0.828, p < 0.001), a significant but very low positive association between age and Grade Point Average (GPA) (r = 0.198, p = 0.046), and a significant negative correlation between the belief that “discussing sexuality is essential to patients’ health outcomes” and nursing students’ GPA (r = −0.173, p = 0.006).ConclusionThe exploration of Saudi female nursing students’ attitudes and beliefs towards sexual healthcare reveals a nuanced landscape where attitudes vary across different aspects of sexual health discussions.
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spelling doaj-art-d35bc2e4aff646e0ae7a8dc3ea843c9d2025-08-20T03:48:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-05-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15130901513090Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method studyWafa Almegewly0Rasha Mohammed Hussein1Mahmoud Abdelwahab Khedr2Department of Community and Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Psychiatric and Mental Health, and Community Health, College of Nursing, Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi ArabiaPsychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EgyptObjectivesThis study aims to explore the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare.MethodsA mixed-methods research design was employed on a sample of 247 Saudi female undergraduate nursing students using a non-probability sampling technique that incorporated a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. The participants completed an online questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics and the Sexual Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (SABS), two open-ended questions asking about the reasons for denying sexual healthcare and related issues.ResultsThe study found that nursing students had a poor attitude towards discussing sexuality as essential to patients’ health outcomes, with a mean score of 2.3 (SD = 1.4). Correlational analyses revealed a significantly high positive correlation between age and year of the program (r = 0.828, p < 0.001), a significant but very low positive association between age and Grade Point Average (GPA) (r = 0.198, p = 0.046), and a significant negative correlation between the belief that “discussing sexuality is essential to patients’ health outcomes” and nursing students’ GPA (r = −0.173, p = 0.006).ConclusionThe exploration of Saudi female nursing students’ attitudes and beliefs towards sexual healthcare reveals a nuanced landscape where attitudes vary across different aspects of sexual health discussions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1513090/fullattitudesbeliefsexualhealth carenursing students
spellingShingle Wafa Almegewly
Rasha Mohammed Hussein
Mahmoud Abdelwahab Khedr
Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study
Frontiers in Public Health
attitudes
belief
sexual
health care
nursing students
title Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study
title_full Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study
title_fullStr Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study
title_short Exploring the attitudes and beliefs of Saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare: mixed method study
title_sort exploring the attitudes and beliefs of saudi female nursing students towards sexual healthcare mixed method study
topic attitudes
belief
sexual
health care
nursing students
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1513090/full
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AT rashamohammedhussein exploringtheattitudesandbeliefsofsaudifemalenursingstudentstowardssexualhealthcaremixedmethodstudy
AT mahmoudabdelwahabkhedr exploringtheattitudesandbeliefsofsaudifemalenursingstudentstowardssexualhealthcaremixedmethodstudy