The Effect of Children’s Sexual Health Education Program on Knowledge and Attitude of Primary School Health Care Providers

ABSTRACT

School involvement is essential for providing Children’s Sexual Health (CSH), but Health Care Providers (HCPs) responsible for children’s health at schools are not sufficiently competent. This study aimed to determine the effect of the Children’s Sexual Health Education Program (CSHEP) on the knowledge and attitude of HCPs in elementary schools. Sixty HCPs were randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention was held in four 90-minute training sessions. Questionnaires were completed by the intervention and control groups in three stages (before, immediately after, and 4 weeks after the intervention). At the end of the intervention, a training session was held in the control group. CSHEP has been effective in improving the knowledge and attitude of HCPs about CSH. Given the important role of HCPs in CSH and their need for education, planning for continuing education courses to promote their knowledge and attitude seems essential.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual health
• sex education
• sexuality
• sexual training
• child

Acknowledgments

This paper was developed from a master’s thesis in midwifery counseling at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (IR.MAZUMS.REC.1397.3140). The authors express their gratitude to the HCP who participated in this research

Disclosure statement

The authors reported no potential conflict of interest.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (IR.MAZUMS.REC.1397.3140). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study. Additional informed consent was obtained from all individuals for whom identifying information is included in this article.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by a grant from the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences [IR.MAZUMS.REC.1397.3140] to Soghra Khani, Principal Investigator.

Notes on contributors

Zahra Barimani Aboksari

Zahra Barimani Aboksari, Lecturer and researcher in the field of midwifery and reproductive health.

Jila Ganji

Jila Ganji, Lecturer and researcher in the field of midwifery and reproductive health.

Nouraddin Mousavinasab

Nouraddin Mousavinasab, Lecturer and researcher in the field of statistics and epidemiology.

Soghra Khani

Soghra Khani, Lecturer and researcher in the field of midwifery and reproductive health for 30 years.