An evidence-based mixed-methods randomized controlled trial of a WeChat sexual health intervention for older chinese women

This mixed-methods randomized controlled trial evaluated a culturally adapted WeChat sexual health interventionfor older Chinese women. A total of 205 women aged ≥60 years were randomized to a 21-day sexual healthintervention or healthy-aging control, with assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up.Sexual function was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), quality of life using the WHOQOL-OLD,and qualitative interviews were conducted with 36 participants. No signifi cant between-group diff erences were foundin FSFI scores.

In contrast, WHOQOL-OLD scores were signifi cantly higher in the intervention group at post-intervention and remained modestly higher at follow-up. Qualitative fi ndings indicated improvements in emotional comfort, .relational intimacy, self-acceptance, and confi dence in discussing sexual health. The fi ndings suggest thatculturally adapted digital sexual health interventions may enhance broader quality of life among older Chinesewomen even when measurable sexual function remains unchanged, supporting greater attention to relational andpsychosocial dimensions of later-life sexual health.

Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China The authors declare no competing interests. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics on 12 January 2025 (approval no. 审20250112X003). All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional review board and the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments.

Informed consent was obtained electronically from all participants prior to enrolment, and separate informed consent was obtained from participants involved in the qualitative interviews and focus groups. Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material.

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To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. An evidence-based mixed-methods randomized controlled trial of a WeChat sexual health intervention for older chinese women. Humanit Soc Sci Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-09028-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-09028-4