Sexual health in general practice, part 2: communication in sexual health consultations

Sexual health consultations are an essential element of holistic general practice, but opportunities to have these important conversations are often missed. Primary care nurses may frequently encounter sexual health concerns during short consultations, where the presenting problem may not be clearly sexual in nature. This article is the second in a series on sexual health in general practice. It focuses on communication in sexual health consultations, including communication difficulties, inequalities in access, clinic-level messaging and core consultation skills. It is argued that health communication should be understood as a core clinical competency within general practice, rather than a specialist skill. Implementing structured, inclusive and patient-centred communication in routine care may improve diagnostic accuracy, prevention, safeguarding and equity of access.