Sexual health literacy among unmarried men attending premarital counseling center in Ardabil, Iran, 2023

Abstract Background Sexual health literacy (SHL) is an important predictor of an individual's sexual behavior. However, little is known about this issue among Iranian men. This study aimed to determine sexual health literacy in unmarried men attending the premarital counseling center in Ardabil, Iran, 2023. Methods This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in Ardabil Province between April and October 2023 with unmarried men referred to the only premarriage counseling center. A total of 384 eligible men were included in the study via a simple random sampling method. Data were collected via a demographic questionnaire and a standardized SHELA questionnaire and were analyzed via SPSS software version 27. Results Over 50% of the participants had adequate (36%) and excellent (23%) SHL. The results revealed that men’s education level was significantly related to SHL and all of its dimensions (P < 0.05). Additionally, there was a significant correlation between men's occupation and their ability to access SHL (P < 0.05), and urban men had lower levels of SHL than rural men did (P < 0.05). Conclusions The findings suggest that more than half of the unmarried men had adequate or excellent SHL. Factors such as education, occupation and place of residence had a significant relationship with SHL. More planning and special attention should be given to this topic.