Sex-Educated: Insight from the Design and Evaluation of a Mobile Solution for Promoting Sexual Health Awareness in India

Sexual education is essential for developing awareness of sexual health, enabling informed choices, and advancing an ethical understanding of sexual and reproductive health. However, in India, sex education is often neglected due to societal taboos around discussing sex, contributing to risky sexual choices. To address this gap, we developed Sex-Educated, a theory-driven, persuasive mobile health application designed to promote sexual health awareness among Indians. The application aims to increase knowledge of healthy sexual behavior and improve behavioral antecedents related to risky sexual behaviors. Development involved identifying design frameworks, creating prototypes and collecting feedback from 57 participants, and conducting an in-the-wild study with 46 participants. Results showed positive changes in behavioral antecedents and overall sexual health knowledge. Sex-Educated demonstrates how mobile applications can effectively provide sex education for underserved populations. Based on our findings, we offer design recommendations for culturally sensitive, persuasive, and engaging digital health interventions for stigmatized or hard-to-reach communities.