Sexual health curriculum and training in Canadian medical schools: A study of family medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology and undergraduate medicine programs in 2011 with comparisons to 1996.

This study examined the level of emphasis (topic not taught, minimal, considerable, heavy) placed on 18 sexual health topics within family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and undergraduate medicine programs at Canadian medical schools. Forty-one of 51 programs contacted (80.4%) returned usable questionnaires. For the three disciplines combined, the topics most likely to receive considerable or heavy emphasis were information and skills for contraception (97.6%), information and skills for prevention of STIs (75.6%), sexual violence/assault (73.2%), and female sexual dysfunction (73.2%). The topics least likely to receive considerable or heavy emphasis across disciplines were childhood sexuality (17.1%), sexuality and disability (22.0%), sexuality and aging in males (24.4%), and social and cultural differences in sexual beliefs and customs (26.8%). Findings are presented specifically for each discipline. The current study was designed to replicate a 1996 survey of sexual health training in Canadian medical schools and direct comparisons of the 2011 and 1996 results are reported here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]