PAWTUCKET, RI — The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (The CSPH) announced today that a report co-authored by its founder and director, Megan Andelloux, was published in the American Journal of Sexuality Education.
The report, “The State of Sexual Health Education in U.S. Medicine,” was published on March 13.
According to Andelloux, her findings revealed deficits within the current system.
“We are proud to expose this consistent drop in education standards. With the lack of comprehensive sex education in so many states, many people are advised to turn to their doctors for information about their bodies,” said Andelloux, a board-certified clinical sexologist and an AASECT-certified sexuality educator. “However, in the past three years there has been a dramatic drop in the sex education requirements in residency programs — particularly in the pediatric residency program.
“This is a public health matter. These standards directly influence the potential treatment patients might receive, and it is great that we have the opportunity to raise awareness of this issue.”
The Accreditation Committee for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is the group that establishes standards and guidelines for post-MD medical training programs in the U.S. and provides residency program training requirements for all specialties. It is in charge of deciding what the sex education requirements are for residency programs.
“We don’t know why these requirements are dropping and there seems to be a lack of transparency from the ACGME with this decision, and this is cause for alarm,” Andelloux said.
The CSPH was founded in February 2010 as an educational organization that works to “reduce sexual shame, fight misinformation and advance the field of sexuality” in part by providing sex-positive sexuality education, research collaborations and cultural dialogue.
The organization was awarded official status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in February. For more info, visit TheCSPH.org.
