Effects of a sexuality education programme on young people’s STI/HIV knowledge, attitudes and risk behaviour in Northeast Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among Nigerian young people has been linked to poor knowledge, attitudes and risk behaviour. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a sexuality education programme (SEP) in improving adolescents’ STI/HIV knowledge and attitudes and reducing risk behaviour. Design: A quasi-experimental pre–post study was conducted. The experimental group ( n = 189) and comparison group ( n = 195) comprised senior secondary school students. Data were collected via a validated self-report questionnaire. A paired t-test, an independent t-test and a one-way between-group analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyse the data. Setting: Three hundred eighty-four young people aged 15–20 years at low and high risk for STI/HIV infection participated in the SEP in a school setting in Northeast Nigeria. Results: There were significant post-intervention improvements in students’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in the experimental group ( p < .001). A t-test showed that after the SEP, the mean scores of STI/HIV knowledge (11.25 ± 3.39 vs 8.23 ± 3.60) and attitudes (29.63 ± 6.21 vs 35.38 ± 7.86) were significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group. Similarly, the mean risk behaviour score (6.83 ± 2.10 vs 5.64 ± 2.27) was higher in the experimental group than that in the control group post-intervention. Conclusion: The school-based SEP increases STI/HIV knowledge, improves positive attitudes and reduces STI/HIV risk behaviour among school young people in Nigeria.

A systematic review of the evidence on the effectiveness of sexuality education interventions on young people's sexual and reproductive health outcomes in Nigeria

“…The PRISMA flow chart (Figure 1) summarizes the search results showing 1021 results, 908 of which were non-duplicate citations, 720 studies excluded after title and abstract screening, full-text of 2 articles were not found and 180 studies excluded after full-text screening yielding 6 eligible studies. [14][15][16][17][18][19]…”

“…Study locations include South-eastern Nigeria South-west South-south, Central, North-east and North-west. [14][15][16][17][18][19] Four studies adopted a quasi-experimental design with a control group except that conducted by Akuiyibo and his group. 13 While two studies were cross-sectional.…”

“…16 Educational formats varied including television drama series, lectures, discussions, role play, demonstrations, pictures, charts, and leaflets. [15][16][17] Interventions were implemented by teachers alone; peer educators alone; parents and peer-educators and teachers/counsellors and peer-educators. [14][15][16][17][18] All interventions were school-based excluding two that targeted both in-and out-of-school YP.…”

“…[15][16][17] Interventions were implemented by teachers alone; peer educators alone; parents and peer-educators and teachers/counsellors and peer-educators. [14][15][16][17][18] All interventions were school-based excluding two that targeted both in-and out-of-school YP. 14,15 Two studies were grounded in theory: One based on the health belief model (HBM) while other grounded in the informationmotivation-behavioral skills (IMB) theory.…”

“…14,15 Two studies were grounded in theory: One based on the health belief model (HBM) while other grounded in the informationmotivation-behavioral skills (IMB) theory. 17,18…”