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Researchers have discovered a more
effective solution to teaching sex education. A team of researchers from the
University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, and Yale University, using
researchers in South America, studied the behavior and attitudes of Colombian
ninth graders who took a sex education course.
Profamilia, an arm of Planned
Parenthood International, provided the course at a cost of $14 per student. The
study tracked 138 ninth graders from 69 public schools in 21 Colombian cities
who took a semester-long course. Each day, the students spent 90 minutes in
class on the computer, working through interactive modules and quizzes on
topics such as pregnancy, sexual rights, contraceptives, and infections.
Students could ask questions and get feedback by private communication with a
remote Profamilia tutor. University of Toronto Assistant Professor, Marco
Gonzalez-Navarro, explained that it can be awkward for teenagers to discuss
sexual activity, so the students had an advantage in working online for this
course and having access to the remote tutor. Researchers carried out a survey
of baseline attitudes before the course began, one week after the course had
been completed, and six months later. Students were also given vouchers for
condoms six months after the course.
The results of the study showed a
reduction in self-reported infections for those students who were sexually
active when the course started and a 10 percent increase in condom use among
students who had taken the course. The sexually active teens increased their
condom use, had fewer sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and showed a
greater awareness of sexually abusive situations. Gonzalez-Navarro noted that
there was a significant, positive impact on sexual behavior among friend groups
who had taken the course. The researchers published the study as a working
paper.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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