Nursing students’ perception of training on human sexuality

Background: Sexuality is a dimension in the life of all human beings. It is a continuous process that begins before birth and ends with death. Objective: To understand undergraduate nursing students' perception of the concept of sexuality and the importance of including the study of sexuality in professional nursing higher education. Methodology: Descriptive, exploratory study, using qualitative methodology. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using content analysis techniques. Results: Participants associated sexuality with a biological need that goes beyond the sexual act and that is influenced by psychological and cultural factors. They highlighted the importance of the topic and reported that it was only superficially addressed during their undergraduate degree. Conclusion: Sexuality is a key topic in professional nursing training and needs to be more and better explored in undergraduate degrees, namely to expand and optimize these health professionals' performance in situations that address sexuality as a life dimension characterized by unique experiences.