Background: Young men are vulnerable in regard to sexual health. Despite knowing how GPs feel about bringing up sexual health in an unrelated consultation, we know little about how young men feel about GPs bringing up sexual health. This study explores the research question 'Do young Victorian males feel comfortable talking about sexual health with a GP?'.
Methods: One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 young male students aged 16-25 years. All interviews were au-dio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed.
Results: Interviews took 10-46 minutes. Young men were generally happy for GPs, preferably a young male GP, to bring up sexual health in an unrelated consultation. Young men are vulnerable in regard to sexual health for multiple reasons, including lack of knowledge, apathy and immaturity.
Discussion: GPs should raise sexual health issues with young men wherever possible. They should broach the topic in a sensitive manner, offer a screening test and some brief sexual health education.