SynthesisPloS one2022
What is the added value of incorporating pleasure in sexual health interventions? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- The sex effect: the prevalence of sex life reasons for contraceptive discontinuation. A systematic review and meta-analysis.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness and acceptability of conversational agents for sexual health promotion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sexual health · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of gender-transformative relationships and sexuality education to reduce adolescent pregnancy (the JACK trial): a cluster-randomised trial.The Lancet. Public health · 2022Trial
- Scaling pleasure-based sexual and reproductive health: an impact and economic modelling study in 99 low- and middle-income countries.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Measurement of Human Flourishing Constructs in Evaluation of Voluntary Family Planning Interventions: A Modified Scoping Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Rethinking sexual pleasure in research, health care and society.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- [International findings on sex education: a 15-year review (English version)].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Article
- Identity Resilience, Community Connectedness, and Sociosexuality Among Gay and Bisexual Men: The Mediating Effect of Internalized Homonegativity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Charting paths to sexual well-being: a comprehensive research agenda for fostering sexual health in Europe and beyond.International journal of impotence research · 2026Review
- Sexuality in Positive Psychology: Toward the Integration of a Neglected Component of Human Flourishing.The journal of positive psychology · 2026Article
- Integrating Positive Outcomes into Healthcare: Validation of the Pleasurable Affect Levels Scale.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Addressing Sexuality With Older People in Primary Care and Hospitals: A Systematic Review of Professional Perceptions and Experiences.Journal of aging research · 2026Article
- Parental sexual health development support for emerging adolescents in western upstate New York: a qualitative interpretive description study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The Implications of HIV Biomedical Prevention for Perceived HIV Risk and Psychosexual Health among Sexual Minority Men in the United States.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Pleasure-Inclusive Sex Education, Sexual Agency, and Sexual Well-Being in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Scoping Review.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Profiles of Sexual Double Standard Norms and Their Association with Sexual Pleasure in the Context of Sexual Intercourse among Dutch Adolescents: A Person-Centered Approach.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Moving Beyond "Risky Behavior": A Qualitative Interview Study Exploring Geosocial Networking App Use by Sexual Minority Men and Women in the UK and USA.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025Article
- Prevent with Pleasure: A systematic review of HIV public communication campaigns incorporating a pleasure-based approach.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Finding the cosmos of intimacies: where pleasurable safe sex dances with liberation.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2024Article
- Behavior Change Among HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex with Men Not Using PrEP in the United States.AIDS and behavior · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Despite billions of dollars invested into Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) efforts, the effect of incorporating sexual pleasure, a key driver of why people have sex, in sexual health interventions is currently unclear. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines across 7 databases for relevant articles published between 1 January 2005-1 June, 2020. We included 33 unique interventions in our systematic review. Eight interventions reporting condom use outcomes were meta-analyzed together with a method random effects model. Quality appraisal was carried out through the Cochrane Collaborations' RoB2 tool. This study was pre-registered on Prospero (ID: CRD42020201822). We identified 33 unique interventions (18886 participants at baseline) that incorporate pleasure. All included interventions targeted HIV/STI risk reduction, none occurred in the context of pregnancy prevention or family planning. We find that the majority of interventions targeted populations that authors classified as high-risk. We were able to meta-analyze 8 studies (6634 participants at baseline) reporting condom use as an outcome and found an overall moderate, positive, and significant effect of Cohen's d = 0·37 (95% CI 0·20-0·54, p < 0·001; I2 = 48%; τ2 = 0·043, p = 0·06). Incorporating sexual pleasure within SRHR interventions can improve sexual health outcomes. Our meta-analysis provides evidence about the positive impact of pleasure-incorporating interventions on condom use which has direct implications for reductions in HIV and STIs. Qualitatively, we find evidence that pleasure can have positive effects across different informational and knowledge-based attitudes as well. Future work is needed to further elucidate the impacts of pleasure within SRHR and across different outcomes and populations. Taking all the available evidence into account, we recommend that agencies responsible for sexual and reproductive health consider incorporating sexual pleasure considerations within their programming.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.