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Background: Sexual health education delivered in school, provided by parents, or provided by other formal sources has been associated most closely with increased rates of condom use and improvements in many other sexual risk behaviours. Friends and the internet are other information sources, although quality and accuracy are not always as high. Nationally representative Canadian data about where adolescents obtain their sexual health information are lacking. Data and methods: Weighted data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth were used to examine the sources typically used to obtain sexual health information by 15- to 17-year-olds, as well as the prevalence and characteristics of adolescents reporting not having an adult to talk with about sexual health and puberty. Results: Most 15- to 17-year-olds in Canada reported having at least one source of sexual health information (96.6%). More than half identified school (55.6%) and parents or guardians (51.2%) as sources of sexual health information. The internet (45.9%), friends (36.2%), and health care professionals (20.9%) were other common sources. Whereas 61.2% of adolescents identified more than one source of sexual health information, 3.4% reported not having any source. Nearly 15% of adolescents reported not having an adult to talk with about sexual health or puberty. Differences in sources consulted and having an adult to talk with depended on many factors, including sexual attraction and/or gender diversity, sex, immigrant status, racialized status, lower-income status, strength of parent-adolescent relationship, region of residence, and mental health. Interpretation: An improved understanding of the sources of sexual health information used by adolescents and identification of characteristics associated with adolescents reporting not having an adult to talk with could help develop strategies to improve sexual health outcomes via better access to sexual health promotion and educational resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to effective, broadly-based sexual health education is an important contributing factor to the health and well-being of Canadian youth. This resource document provides research-based answers to 16 common questions that parents, communities, educators, health and school administrators, and governments may have about sexual health education in the schools. These questions and answers focus on issues that include the current status of adolescent sexual health, parents' and students' opinions regarding sexual health education, the impact of sexual health education on behaviour, the key ingredients of effective programs, the appropriateness of "abstinence-only" approaches, and the social and economic benefits of providing sexual health education. This document supports sexual health education in the schools that is grounded in democratic principles, informed by credible research, and consistent with the Public Health Agency of Canada's (2008) Canadian Guidelines for Sexual Health Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although physicians can be an important source of sexual health information and counseling for adolescents, little is known about adolescents' use of physicians for these services. As part of a community effort to establish a health service for students attending a Nova Scotia high school, the author surveyed 656 male and 647 female Grade 10 -12 students attending the school on a range of sexual health issues including their discussions with their physicians about sexual health issues. Over 80% of males and 90% of females reported that they had a family physician. With respect to sexual behavior, about 40% of Grade 10 students, 50% of Grade 11 students and 60% of Grade 12 students reported being sexually experienced. Sexually active students were significantly more likely to have visited their family physician in the last year. However, of students with a family physician, only 8.7% of male students and 37.9% of female students had discussed with their physician whether they were sexually active.