Bridging the Relationship Between Sexual Pleasure and Contraceptive Counseling

This study applies multiple methods, a scoping review and qualitative interviews, to identify how contraceptive counseling can bridge the relationship between sexual pleasure and contraceptive decision making. It aims to analyze how literature recognizes this relationship and positions contraceptive counseling. 

By combining a literature review with qualitative interviews of experts in the sexual and reproductive health field, this project seeks to fill research gaps in understanding how to improve clinical implications and guidelines. Many discrepancies emerge within the incorporation of sexual pleasure in contraceptive counseling and health care in general, so it is insightful to collect expert perspectives to examine why these incongruences persist. 

The study aims to clarify how contraceptive counseling can best facilitate the relationship between sexual pleasure and contraception, identify barriers to implementation, and synthesize research to advance the integration of pleasure-based approaches in counseling. Further, it aims to establish a stronger consensus regarding what future guidelines should incorporate to inform future policy developments.

For more information about this study, you can contact the Principal Investigator: Erica Selznick (e-mail: erica.selznick@uantwerpen.be).