📄 Category

sexual and reproductive health

38 papers

Sexual and reproductive health encompasses the full spectrum of physical and emotional well-being related to our bodies, relationships, and families. This vital field explores everything from contraception and pregnancy care to preventing infections and ensuring safe, consensual experiences for people of all backgrounds. It is a dynamic area of science where new discoveries constantly reshape how we understand our own biology and protect our futures.

At Gist.Science, we monitor every new preprint uploaded to medRxiv within this category to ensure you stay ahead of the curve. We process these emerging studies by transforming complex medical data into clear, plain-language explanations alongside detailed technical summaries, making cutting-edge research accessible to everyone without sacrificing scientific accuracy.

Below are the latest preprints in sexual and reproductive health, ready for you to explore.

📄 sexual and reproductive health

Structural determinants of STI service delivery for internally displaced persons in Nigeria: A qualitative study of policy and humanitarian perspectives

This qualitative study reveals that STI service delivery for internally displaced persons in Nigeria is critically undermined by HIV-centric vertical financing, weak implementation of policies, and sociocultural barriers, necessitating a strategic rebalancing of funding and strengthened health systems to ensure equitable access.

Amodu, O., Janes, C., Affia, P.2026-03-18
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Meta-Analyses of Sexual Assault Prevalence Among Homeless Women

This meta-analysis of 20 studies reveals that homeless women face disproportionately high rates of sexual assault, with a pooled lifetime prevalence of 39.2% and a 12-month prevalence of 22%, highlighting particularly elevated risks for those with disabilities, mental illness, or LGBTQ+ identities and underscoring the urgent need for tailored public health interventions.

Valliant, S. J., Razumeyko, J., Silva, A., Parton, S., Lee, A., Derin, J. R., Ahmad, N. B., Kulik, C., Banihashem, M.2026-03-17
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Assessment of Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility Measures for Family Planning Interventions Among Midwives and Nurses in Ghana

This study successfully culturally adapted and psychometrically validated the Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility measures for evaluating postpartum family planning interventions among Ghanaian midwives and nurses, finding that while the adapted tools are reliable, their abridged versions demonstrate superior construct validity compared to expanded versions.

Glozah, F. N., Maya, E., Guure, C., Sonalkar, S., McAllister, A., Doe, R., Kaire, J., Gaffield, M. E.2026-03-17
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Peer-led sexual and reproductive health education and risky sexual behavior among adolescent girls and young women in rural Uganda: a quasi-experimental pre-post study

A quasi-experimental pre-post study in rural northeastern Uganda demonstrates that a community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health education intervention significantly reduced risky sexual behaviors and improved comprehensive knowledge among adolescent girls and young women, though further robust research is needed to address persistent contextual risk factors.

KOMUHANGI, A., Appeli, S., Izudi, J.2026-03-12
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Peer Support in Online Discussions of Male Infertility: A Natural Language Processing Study of Reddit

This study utilizes natural language processing to analyze over 90,000 Reddit posts and comments, revealing that anonymous online communities serve as vital support infrastructures for men with infertility by facilitating clinical sense-making, emotional validation, and collective coping while mitigating the stigma often associated with male infertility in offline settings.

Khatun, M., Patel, N., Loid, M., Destouni, A., Lingasamy, P., S, S. L., Peters, M., Sharma, R., Salumets, A., Modhukur (…)2026-03-10
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Prevalence of Family Planning Utilization and Its Determinants among Women of Reproductive Age in Oromia and Gambella Regions, Ethiopia

This community-based cross-sectional study conducted in October 2023 across five districts in Ethiopia's Oromia and Gambella regions reveals a 60.9% family planning utilization rate, identifying limited transport access, low household wealth, low partner education, and unintended pregnancy as significant barriers while noting that farming women are more likely to utilize these services.

Abadula, K. H., Worku, A. G., Debelew, G. T., Wordofa, M. A.2026-03-09
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Large-scale genome-wide analyses of proteomic data identifies that sex hormones affect plasma glycodelin levels

This large-scale genome-wide study utilizing UK Biobank data reveals that sex hormones causally influence plasma glycodelin levels, suggesting that previously observed associations between glycodelin and reproductive diseases are likely driven by hormonal effects rather than a direct causal role of glycodelin itself.

McDowell, S., Beaumont, R. N., Green, H., Kingdom, R., Vabistsevits, M., Prague, J. K., Murray, A., Tyrrell, J., Ruth, K (…)2026-03-06
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Effect of Performance-Based Financing on the quality of Obstetric Service delivery in Nkambe Health District, North West Region, Cameroon

This study demonstrates that Performance-Based Financing significantly improved the utilization and quality of obstetric care in Nkambe Health District, Cameroon, by increasing service attendance, provider knowledge, and patient satisfaction, leading to a recommendation for its scale-up with attention to cost and staffing.

ACHUONDOU, E. E., Ralph, O., Che, N. V., Fonyuy, B. E.2026-03-04
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Chemsex-associated drug use amongst men and gender-diverse people having sex with men in the UK: findings from an online community survey, 2024

A 2024 UK online survey of 2,758 men and gender-diverse people who have sex with men found that the 8% who reported chemsex-associated drug use exhibited significantly higher sexual risk behaviors, poorer mental wellbeing, and greater engagement with sexual health services compared to non-users, highlighting the critical role of these services in providing harm reduction support.

Baldry, G., Habib Meriggi, G., Mullen, D., Corkin, H., Andrews, A., Lowndes, C. M., Reid, D., Mercer, C. H., Saunders, J (…)2026-03-02
📄 sexual and reproductive health

Community perceptions and attitude toward sexuality of women with disabilities in Kibra, Nairobi

This quantitative study of 420 residents in Kibra, Nairobi, reveals that while the community largely acknowledges the sexual agency of women with disabilities and holds generally positive attitudes, this recognition remains largely symbolic, necessitating a shift toward rights-based policies and culturally responsive strategies to address the negative influence of religion and education and the benefits of close contact.

Otieno, B. H., Selvam, S. G.2026-02-25