Abstract:
Sexual health education is a well-known, evidence-based intervention that can improve adolescent health outcomes, increase protective health behaviours, and decrease risky health behaviours. Providing sexual health education in school settings offers opportunities for discussion of critical health topics and can improve the school environment for all students. However, not all sexual health education is taught equitably across classroom environments. As part of a mixed-methods study to describe school-based sexual health education, we conducted focus groups and interviews with recently graduated high school students in New Mexico, a geographically and ethnically diverse state in the US Southwest. Thirty-one young people shared their experiences, explored the sexual health education content they had been taught, and offered recommendations to improve sexual health education. Three key themes were developed: young people wanted and needed sexual health education taught in school settings; the sexual health education currently taught in school is not helpful and sometimes harmful; and the individuals who teach sexual health education are critically important. These findings can inform and support school staff and administrators addressing barriers to school-based sexual health education delivery, particularly in schools within marginalised communities with limited resources. The results support including youth as stakeholders in the planning, delivery and evaluation of school-based sexual health education; and the development of sexual health education training for teachers, with the goal of improving health outcomes for all youth populations.
摘要:
性健康教育是众所周知的,循证干预可以改善青少年健康结果,增加保护性健康行为,减少危险的健康行为。在学校环境中提供性健康教育提供了讨论关键健康主题的机会,并可以改善所有学生的学校环境。然而,并非所有的性健康教育都在课堂环境中公平地教授。作为描述学校性健康教育的混合方法研究的一部分,我们对新墨西哥州最近毕业的高中生进行了焦点小组和访谈,美国西南部一个地理和种族不同的州。31名年轻人分享了他们的经历,探索他们所教的性健康教育内容,并提出改善性健康教育的建议。制定了三个关键主题:年轻人想要和需要在学校环境中教授性健康教育;目前在学校教授的性健康教育没有帮助,有时有害;教授性健康教育的个人至关重要。这些发现可以为学校工作人员和管理人员提供信息和支持,以解决学校为基础的性健康教育的障碍。特别是在资源有限的边缘化社区的学校。结果支持,包括青年作为规划的利益相关者,提供和评估校本性健康教育;以及为教师开展性健康教育培训,以改善所有青年人口的健康结果为目标。