Correlates of sexual health service use amongst unmarried young adults in Kathmandu, Nepal

Approximately 37% of participants reported engaging in sexual intercourse, with 55.7% reporting condom use during most recent intercourse. Less than half (39.1%) were aware of available sexual health services, and less than one-third (26.6%) were aware of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Over a third of participants (40.9%) reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact, and 5.9% had a history of forced sexual intercourse. The actual reported sexual health service use within the past 12 months was 13.9%. Logistic regression analyses showed higher perceived youth friendliness of the health system (OR: 1.19; CI: 1.01-1.39; <i>p</i> < .05), sexual attraction to the same or both sexes (OR: 2.91; 95%; CI: 1.54-5.50; <i>p</i> < .01), higher perceived sexual risk (OR: 1.33; 95%; CI: 1.11-1.59; <i>p</i> < .01), as well as prior health awareness and behaviors (e.g., cigarette consumption, dating app use), were statistically significant correlates of sexual health service use. These findings indicate a need for further research to understand the experiences of Nepalese young adults with sexual healthcare and essential elements of youth-friendly health systems.