The relevance of introducing online technologies into the process of hygiene education in adolescents using the example of the prevention of sexually transmitted infections

Relevance. The accessibility of reliable and verified information is attracting increasing attention. The most affected category of citizens are teenagers who learn about the world through the Internet. Given current trends, there is a clear need to implement a resource aimed at providing teenagers with reliable educational information using online technologies.

Purpose. to identify the need to create an online resource for young people aimed at providing information in the field of hygienic education and prevention of STIs.

Materials and methods. The study includes the results of anonymous questionnaires provided for completion to 435 schoolchildren from the Far Eastern District. Study period. March 2023 — March 2024.

Results. Half of the surveyed schoolchildren would like to receive information about current diseases. The majority of the teenagers are likely to ask their elders questions regarding sex education, but few actually do so in practice. The largest share of respondents is formed in the “Social Network”, in particular “VKontakte”, as the most convenient way to obtain information about the prevention of STI. Only a small number of respondents were able to name the STIs symptoms. The most common answer about the sources of knowledge received on sex education was “I found the information myself”.

Research limitations. In the presented results of the study there is a given number of respondents due to the voluntary nature of the survey.

Conclusion. The collected data confirm the need and interest of respondents in obtaining reliable knowledge in the field of hygiene education.

Compliance with ethical standards. Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the local ethics committee of the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), protocol No. 02-23 dated 01/26/2023. 

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The author declare no conflict of interest.

Received: September 23, 2024 / Revised: November 11, 2024 / Accepted: December 17, 2025 / Published: March 4, 2026