abstract: 'Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing socioeconomic and health disparities, including disparities in sexual health and well-being. While there have been several reviews published on COVID-19 and population health disparities generally-including some with attention to HIV-none has focused on sexual health (ie, STI care, female sexual health, sexual behaviour). We have conducted a scoping review focused on sexual health (excluding reproductive health (RH), intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender-based violence (GBV)) in the COVID-19 era, examining sexual behaviours and sexual health outcomes. Methods A scoping review, compiling both peer-reviewed and grey literature, focused on sexual health (excluding RH, IPV and GBV) and COVID-19 was conducted on 15 September 2020. Multiple bibliographical databases were searched. Study selection conformed to Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Reviewers'' Manual 2015 Methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews. We only included English-language original studies. Results We found that men who have sex with men may be moving back toward pre-pandemic levels of sexual activity, and that STI and HIV testing rates seem to have decreased. There was minimal focus on outcomes such as the economic impact on sexual health (excluding RH, IPV and GBV) and STI care, especially STI care of marginalised populations. In terms of population groups, there was limited focus on sex workers or on women, especially women''s sexual behaviour and mental health. We noticed limited use of qualitative techniques. Very few studies were in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Conclusions Sexual health research is critical during a global infectious disease pandemic and our review of studies suggested notable research gaps. Researchers can focus efforts on LMICs and under-researched topics within sexual health and explore the use of qualitative techniques and interventions where appropriate.' affiliation: 'Kumar, N (Corresponding Author), Yale Univ, Dept Sociol, New Haven, CT 06520 USA. Kumar, Navin; Janmohamed, Kamila; Sarpong Frimpong, Afia, Yale Univ, Dept Sociol, New Haven, CT 06520 USA. Nyhan, Kate, Yale Univ, Sch Med, Harvey CushingJohn Hay Whitney Med Lib, New Haven, CT USA. Nyhan, Kate, Yale Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Environm Hlth Sci, New Haven, CT USA. Forastiere, Laura, Yale Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Biostat, New Haven, CT USA. Zhang, Wei-Hong, Free Univ Brussels, Sch Publ Hlth, Brussels, Belgium. Zhang, Wei-Hong, Univ Ghent, Internat Ctr Reprod Hlth, Dept Publ Hlth \& Primary Care, Ghent, Belgium. Kagesten, Anna; Larrson, Elin, Karolinska Inst, Dept Global Publ Hlth, Stockholm, Sweden. Uhlich, Maximiliane, Univ Friborg, Dept Psychol, Fribourg, Switzerland. Van de Velde, Sarah, Univ Antwerp, Ctr Populat Family \& Hlth, Dept Sociol, Antwerp, Belgium. Francis, Joel M., Univ Witwatersrand, Fac Hlth Sci, Sch Clin Med, Dept Family Med \& Primary Care, Gauteng, South Africa. Erausquin, Jennifer Toller, Univ North Carolina Greensboro, Publ Hlth Educ, Greensboro, NC USA. Larrson, Elin, Karolinska Inst, Dept Womens \& Childrens Hlth, Stockholm, Sweden. Callander, Deton, Columbia Univ, Mailman Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Epidemiol, New York, NY USA. Scott, John; Minichiello, Victor, Queensland Univ Technol, Sch Social Justice, Brisbane, Qld, Australia. Minichiello, Victor, Univ New England, Fac Med \& Hlth, Armidale, NSW, Australia. Tucker, Joseph, Univ N Carolina, Chapel Hill Sch Med, Chapel Hill, NC USA. Tucker, Joseph, Univ N Carolina, Sch Med, Chapel Hill, NC USA. Tucker, Joseph, London Sch Hyg \& Trop Med, Fac Infect \& Trop Dis, London, England.' author: Kumar, Navin and Janmohamed, Kamila and Nyhan, Kate and Forastiere, Laura and Zhang, Wei-Hong and Kagesten, Anna and Uhlich, Maximiliane and Sarpong Frimpong, Afia and Van de Velde, Sarah and Francis, Joel M. and Erausquin, Jennifer Toller and Larrson, Elin and Callander, Deton and Scott, John and Minichiello, Victor and Tucker, Joseph author-email: navin183@gmail.com author_list: - family: Kumar given: Navin - family: Janmohamed given: Kamila - family: Nyhan given: Kate - family: Forastiere given: Laura - family: Zhang given: Wei-Hong - family: Kagesten given: Anna - family: Uhlich given: Maximiliane - family: Sarpong Frimpong given: Afia - family: Van de Velde given: Sarah - family: Francis given: Joel M. - family: Erausquin given: Jennifer Toller - family: Larrson given: Elin - family: Callander given: Deton - family: Scott given: John - family: Minichiello given: Victor - family: Tucker given: Joseph da: '2023-09-28' doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2020-054896 eissn: 1472-3263 files: [] issn: 1368-4973 journal: SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS keywords: COVID-19; sexual health; HIV; sex work; sexual and gender minorities keywords-plus: 'CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019; SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES; RISK-FACTORS; LARGE COHORT; HIV CARE; IMPACT; PEOPLE; BEHAVIORS; TIME; MEN' language: English month: SEP number: '6' number-of-cited-references: '137' orcid-numbers: 'Forastiere, Laura/0000-0003-3721-9826 Uhlich, Maximiliane/0000-0001-5294-4984 Nyhan, Kate/0000-0001-5397-2303 Callander, Denton/0000-0002-4116-4250 Erausquin, Jennifer Toller/0000-0003-4271-6077 Kumar, Navin/0000-0003-4502-069X Larsson, Elin C./0000-0002-5189-808X' pages: 402-410 papis_id: 284c9368cd979296307cfa08316725f1 ref: Kumar2021sexualhealth researcherid-numbers: 'Nyhan, Kate/AFU-6706-2022 Zhang, Wei/HOF-7252-2023 Larsson, Elin C/AAQ-5596-2020 Kumar, Navin/HII-4609-2022 Forastiere, Laura/AAF-2300-2019 ' tags: - review times-cited: '19' title: 'Sexual health (excluding reproductive health, intimate partner violence and gender-based violence) and COVID-19: a scoping review' type: Review unique-id: WOS:000695635700003 usage-count-last-180-days: '0' usage-count-since-2013: '26' volume: '97' web-of-science-categories: Infectious Diseases year: '2021'