The topic of sexual health communication can be conceptualized in different ways. For example, it can be seen in terms of interpersonal communication, such as conversations between partners or between health care providers and patients over contraceptive use, or as communication between governments or organizations seeking to promote health and reduce or prevent disease. Sexual health communication is discussed here in terms of the latter—mass-level and other group-level (such as social media) communication to promote health and reduce or prevent disease.

Communication channels for health information changed dramatically in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The old paradigm of a one-way channel to disseminate information has given way to a multimodal transactional model of communication. Health communicators are now faced with challenges, such as increases ...