Abstract

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was brought to a virtual standstill. National, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector, took stark measures to stem new cases of COVID-19 and “flatten the curve.” Among these measures were the closure of in-person classes at schools and universities and reduced access to in-person health care services. During the summer of 2020, the authors conducted an open-ended online survey with a convenience sample of sexuality educators, asking about their professional experiences in teaching sexuality education during the height of the pandemic. This article summarizes eight major themes that surfaced from a systematic analysis of the survey data and the authors’ commentary and lists of tips for teaching sexuality education virtually. Despite a multitude of challenges presented by the pandemic, sexuality educators found innovative ways to reach youth and adults with information and skills needed to make healthy decisions about their sexual health, link them to services, and advocate on their behalf.

摘要

在 COVID-19 大流行的最初几个月，美国几乎陷入停滞。国家、州和地方政府以及私营部门采取严厉措施阻止新的 COVID-19 病例并“拉平曲线”。这些措施包括关闭学校和大学的面对面课程，并减少获得面对面医疗服务的机会。在 2020 年夏天，作者对性教育工作者的便利样本进行了一项开放式在线调查，询问他们在大流行高峰期在性教育教学方面的专业经验。本文总结了对调查数据和作者的评论进行系统分析后出现的八个主要主题，并列出了虚拟性教育教学技巧清单。