Sexual and Reproductive Health and Education of Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic, Results from "Come Te La Passi?"-Survey in Bologna, Italy.

ABSTRACT

Social distancing measures adopted to face the COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on adolescent education and their interaction with peers and adults, secondary to the limitation of school and recreational activities, with repercussions on social and sexual life. The "Come te la passi?" ("How is it going?") study, performed in the Metropolitan City of Bologna (Italy), aimed at investigating the type of information sources adopted by adolescents for their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and education, the age of their sexual debut, and the way in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected their relationships and sexual life in order to help local health care professionals and educators designing SRH education programs. A purposely designed online survey was administered during the COVID-19 pandemic to 378 high school students (age > 14 yo) in July 2021. Based on the study results, the most common source of SRH education was the web, followed by peers (friends). A total of 61.3% of 17-year-olds already had sexual intercourse, and 90% of 15-year-olds had experienced romantic or sexual attraction. For 58.2% of the adolescents, the COVID-19 pandemic had negative effects on their relationships/sexual life. The current research emphasizes the need to involve health care professionals and educators in structured programs to promote SRH education tailored to adolescents' needs and started from early ages.