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Abstract
This paper reports on the findings of a pre-post and follow-up evaluation of a sexual health promotion programme in Ireland. Substantial progress in skills, knowledge, confidence and comfort were reported by participants which were to a large extent maintained over time. Evidence emerged of the successful translation of learning into practice in a number of areas, including engaging proactively with service users about sexual health and developing educational programmes and materials. The paper highlights contextual factors that support and inhibit sustainable changes to practice that need to be addressed in order to maximise the impact of capacity building education.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme for commissioning this study and for the support of the Foundation Programme Sexual Health Promotion facilitators throughout the project.
Disclosure statement
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [AH], upon request.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Agnes Higgins
Agnes Higgins is a professor in mental health nursing within the School of Nursing and Midwifery where she teaches and supervises across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and leads a team of lecturers and researchers in developing quality evidence to inform mental health education, practice and policy decisions. She is a registered mental health nurse, general nurse and nurse tutor with over thirty-five years’ clinical and education experience in the areas of mental health, palliative/hospice care and general nursing.
Carmel Downes
Carmel Downes is a research assistant who has experience in health and mental health research on subgroups of the population, particularly older people and LGBT individuals. She holds a M.Sc. in Applied Social Research.
Louise Daly
Louise Daly is an Assistant Professor and current Head of Discipline for General Nursing, Trinity College Dublin where she has been employed since 2004. She is a Registered General Nurse and Registered Nurse Tutor. She obtained her PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2010. Her clinical, education and research interests are in care of the older adult, with a particular interest in dementia care, health promotion including sexual health promotion and ethics. Louise teaches and supervises in these and other areas across undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the School.
Thelma Begley
Thelma Begley has significant teaching experience in the development and delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programmes with specialist expertise in children’s nursing. She is currently module leader on undergraduate, postgraduate and MSc Children’s nursing programmes and Head of the Children’s Nursing Discipline within the School. Her clinical experience includes children and young people’s medical and surgical nursing and adult and children’s orthopaedic nursing. Her research interest lies in three areas namely children's nursing, nurse education and adolescence, specifically sexual health in adolescence and her current PhD in this subject area. Thelma's conference presentations and publications are related to these areas of research interest. Her research-based commitments also include supervision of research students. She was former Course Coordinator for the Higher Diploma in Children's Nursing.
Danika Sharek
Danika Sharek is a researcher with extensive experience in a number of areas, such as health, education, and mental health. Her previous education experience includes a M.Sc. in Applied Social Research and a H.Dip. in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, both from Trinity College Dublin, and a BA in Honours Sociology from Boston College. Her PhD aims to develop an online education programme with, and for, families of transgender young people in Ireland.
Jan de Vries
Jan De Vries is a psychologist who specialises in clinical and health psychology, stress management, cognitive neuroscience, and social psychology. He holds a PhD in Psychology from Trinity College Dublin and an MSc and BSc from Utrecht University in The Netherlands. At present he is lecturing in psychology in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in TCD and involved in a variety of research programmes originating in the School. He is a reviewer for Family and Marriage review and was a member of the Stress Management Policy Development group for the Health Service Executive (HSE). This present research activities include the Cognitive Neuroscience of Cognitive Dissonance; Applications of Cognitive Dissonance (to Hand Hygiene and Conflict Management); Psychology Teaching in Nursing; Various Evaluations of Mental Health Programmes and other training programmes; Leadership in Nursing; Accident Proneness and Functional Health Patterns, and Community Integration in People with and Intellectual Disability.