Dose Matters in Evaluation of a School-Based Adolescent Sexual Health Education Program.
Amy D Benton, Erica Nason, Carol Lewis and 2 others
PMID 35246980WHAT IT FOUND
More total minutes of a school-based sexual health education program were associated with larger knowledge gains in high school students.
Attitudes and measured sexual behaviors did not show a clear change, and there was no comparison group.
Key findings
01More total minutes of the sexual health education program were associated with larger increases in sexual health knowledge.
02The program did not significantly change sexual health attitudes or measured behaviors such as birth control use, condom use, gender-role attitudes, or ability to say no.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
There was no comparison group, so changes cannot be attributed to the program alone. The study could not separate the effects of peer educators, adult support, the curriculum, and added modules. Youth may have learned sexual health information outside the program, which could also explain knowledge gains. The researchers could not measure session quality or fidelity because peer educators did not complete the monitoring survey. The school district banned condom demonstrations, which may have limited the program's impact on behaviors. Only 99 of 144 baseline participants completed post-test surveys, although no significant demographic differences were found between completers and non-completers.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that peer education or the curriculum alone caused the knowledge gains. The program included an adapted curriculum with added modules, peer educators, and adult support, and there was no comparison group. Attitudes and measured behaviors did not change significantly.