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Article History

Received: 3 April 2025

Accepted: 26 March 2026

First Online: 9 April 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University Medicine Greifswald (full name: Ethikkommission der Universitätsmedizin Greifswald) on July 6, 2022 (approval number: BB 090/22). All research was conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations for studies involving human participants, including the Declaration of Helsinki. The approval covers all components of the research described in this article, including the initial focus groups and the subsequent pilot study aimed at developing a programme to promote Sexual health among adolescents. The ethics application explicitly addressed participant safety and included comprehensive risk assessments.

: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the study. The consent was collected online, directly before the interview sessions, via a mandatory checkbox system. This ensured that participants were fully informed about the study and voluntarily agreed to participate before data collection began. Participants confirmed that they had read and understood the study’s objectives, procedures, data usage, and data protection policy. They were also informed that participation was entirely voluntary, that refusal to participate would carry no disadvantages, and that consent could be withdrawn at any time without giving reasons or experiencing any negative consequences. The scope of the consent included agreement to participate in the study, to the collection and processing of data provided in the survey, and—where applicable—to the use of data related to health and wellbeing. Participants were explicitly informed that all data would be anonymized and treated confidentially. They also received a copy of the study information and the consent form for their records. As the study involved non-interventional research using online tools, participants were informed that their anonymity was assured, the purpose of the research was explained, the intended use of their data was made clear, and no identifiable risks were associated with their participation.