YouthNet has three studies focused on sexual and reproductive health education.
The first is a review of the literature on curriculum-based education programs around the world to synthesize best practices common to programs that produce behavior change. As a result of this study, the components of reproductive health and HIV education programs that best promote healthy behaviors among youth will be identified and disseminated. Youth Research Working Paper No. 2. Impact of Sex and HIV Education Programs on Sexual Behaviors of Youth in Developing and Developed Countries discusses findings from a review of 83 evaluations of sex and HIV education programs.
The second is an evaluation of the MTV Staying Alive campaign in 2002. The study found clear evidence that this massive global campaign had significant impact on interpersonal communications about HIV/AIDS and also affected social norms in some cases.
The third focuses on peer education. It seeks to standardize the criteria and tools by which programs are evaluated and capture information on the costs of these programs and how they sustain themselves. Youth Research Working Paper No. 3. Formative Research on Youth Peer Education Program Productivity and Sustainability discusses the first phase of this study.
Study: Analysis of Curriculum-Based Reproductive Health and HIV Programs
In this project, YouthNet summarizes and reviews the impact of curriculum-based sexual reproductive health and HIV education programs around the world. It supports an in-depth analysis of those programs that have been found to be effective in changing behavior and a synthesis of critical elements of successful programs. Phase 1 involves identifying research studies and summarizing the effects of sex and HIV education programs meeting programmatic and methodological criteria. To the extent possible, the review summarizes the impact of these programs on subgroups of young adults (e.g., by geographical region, gender, and age).
It systematically identifies sex and HIV education programs that show particularly strong evidence that they changed the sexual behavior of youth in a positive direction, analyzes them much more intensively, and determines the common characteristics of these effective sex and HIV education programs that distinguish them from programs that did not change behavior. The second phase involves creating logic models for the programs and specifying the particular risk and protective factors that were improved by the program and that in turn affected sexual behavior.
Through this study:
- Critical characteristics of successful curriculum-based reproductive health and HIV programs will be identified and disseminated for use in program development.
Related Publications
Youth Research Working Paper No. 2. Impact of Sex and HIV Education Programs on Sexual Behaviors of Youth in Developing and Developed Countries (PDF, 582 KB). This 45-page paper discusses findings from a review of 83 evaluations of sex and HIV education programs. The analysis found substantial positive impact on sexual behaviors in more than two-thirds of the evaluations and identified 17 characteristics of the most effective curricula used in the programs evaluated. A longer version of the paper is also available.
A longer version (PDF, 356 KB) of the review summarized in Working Paper No. 2 provides more details, particularly about the evaluations from developed countries.
Data sheets are available for each of the 83 evaluations reviewed, arranged according to the area in which the programs were implemented: developing countries (PDF, 392 KB), United States (PDF, 1.02 MB), and other developed countries (PDF, 230 KB). Within each of these three documents, the data sheets are arranged alphabetically by author. There is also a stand-alone Table of Contents (PDF, 84 KB) that shows the document and page for each of the 83 data sheets.
YouthNet assessed the scope and effectiveness of mass media in reaching urban youth throught the evaluation of a global media campaign, Staying Alive. The study evaluated the 2002 campaign, launched at the 2002 International AIDS Conference. The study found clear evidence that this massive global campaign had significant impact on interpersonal communications about HIV/AIDS and also affected social norms in some cases.
Through this study:
- The effectiveness of the global MTV campaign in influencing selected HIV attitudes, knowledge and behaviors among youth was evaluated in four countries (Brazil, Senegal, Nepal, and Kenya).
For more information:
1. Youth Issues Paper 5 - Using Global Media to Reach Youth: The 2002 MTV Staying Alive Campaign summarizes findings from YouthNet's evaluation of the 2002 campaign.
2. In August 2002, FHI/Senegal formed an advisory committee to assess the global MTV materials and to develop a country-based campaign. Staying Alive in Senegal reports on this experience.
3. For more details on how the campaign functioned, see the YouthNet report, MTV: Staying Alive 2002.
Study: Productivity and Sustainability of Youth Peer Education
This two-phase study examines the effectiveness and costs of youth peer education programs promoting RH and HIV prevention. Phase 1 examined successful programs to develop assessment instruments to determine the core components of youth peer education in terms of productivity and sustainability and to develop instruments to monitor and evaluate peer education programs in Zambia and the Dominican Republic. A report of Phase 1 results is available, along with appendices.
Phase 2 is a comparative study to measure outcomes and impacts of six programs in Zambia to examine effectiveness and costs. The study design of Phase 2 involves two household surveys within the six programs' catchment areas and, in partnership with the national Zambian Sexual Behavior Survey that includes questions about RH, youth-to-youth prevention, and exposure to peer education. In addition, there will be clinic-based studies in the six catchment areas to determine the relationship between youth peer education exposure and use of RH services, VCT, and STI diagnoses.
Through this study:
Related Publication
Youth Research Working Paper No. 3. Formative Research on Youth Peer Education Program Productivity and Sustainability. (PDF, 471KB) This 64-page paper discusses the first phase of this two-part study, which identified core elements of programs through an examination of program dynamics, activities, costs, and outputs in two countries. Based on this data, the first phase developed frameworks and eight checklists to use in assessing youth peer education effectiveness and sustainability. A longer version of this paper is also available.
