The use of social marketing approach in adolescent sexual health promotion

BACKGROUND: To tackle adolescent sexual health challenges, sexual health promotion must be versatile and originate from adolescents’ needs. Social marketing, an audience-centered approach that aims at changing people's behavior, can be used in adolescent sexual health promotion. This scoping review researched the content and delivery methods of social marketing interventions in adolescent sexual health. To our knowledge, these objects have not been previously reviewed. METHODS: Six databases were searched to capture the peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles without time restrictions that provided evidence of sexual health-related social marketing interventions targeting adolescents aged 11-25. An inductive-deductive content analysis was performed. Nineteen studies were included in the data. RESULTS: The content of interventions included sexual risks, risk prevention, morals of sexual relationships, and changes in the body. Risks and risk prevention dominated the data, and they focused on sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and sexual violence. Morals of sexual relationships included values such as fidelity toward one's partner, whereas changes in the body were observed from a reproductive perspective. Delivery of interventions occurred through various media channels, events, and activities. CONCLUSIONS: The interventions were mostly preventive and concentrated on the risks, whereas the delivery methods were diverse and creative, combining modern and already well-established channels. Sexuality should be seen comprehensively, and interventions should respond to the full range of adolescents’ needs in a way that also positive aspects, such as love and relationships, respect, and equality are included. KEY MESSAGES: • The study improves public understanding of the phenomena by summarizing the existing knowledge. • The results are beneficial in planning social marketing interventions and other sexual health programs.