We conducted a descriptive and cross-sectional study with 242 medical undergraduates at two public universities and two private colleges in Teresina, Piauí. A semi-structured questionnaire to understand how human sexuality was taught in medical courses was applied. The questionnaire response rate was 86.3%. The teaching of sexuality was identified by 95.2% of students at some time during the course. Gynecology was the discipline that discussed sexuality the most (91.9%), followed by Psychiatry (55.3%), Medical Psychology (30.6%) and Urology (24.1%). Sexuality was cited as a specific topic in only 8.4% of the reports, but it was reported in classes about other topics such as cancer (70.9%), abortion (67.5%), STD and HIV/AIDS (67%). In class, the teacher emphasized sexual dysfunctions (84.1%), with less emphasis on homosexuality (50%) and sexual and reproductive rights (40.6%). Students indicated that there were positive influences of sexual education in undergraduate study (96.1%). There was great emphasis on the discussion of biological aspects and diseases associated with sexuality, with less emphasis on the social construction of the theme and sexual orientation.
Undergraduate Medical Education; Sexuality; Sexual Education; Curriculum; Medical Students