Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Peer Education in Improving HIV Knowledge, Attitude, and Sexual Behaviours among In-School Adolescents in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction. Young people are at the centre of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of peer education in improving HIV knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices among in-school adolescents in Osun State, Nigeria. Methods. This was an intervention study that was carried out among in-school adolescents attending mixed secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. The study was in three stages: before intervention, intervention, and after intervention. The impact of peer education was evaluated twelve weeks after intervention. Data were collected using pretested semistructured questionnaires and data analysis was done with SPSS version 16. Results. At the preintervention stage, the study and control groups were similar in their sociodemographic characteristics, HIV knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices, including high risk behaviours for HIV/AIDS transmission. After the peer education intervention, those with good knowledge and positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS increased significantly from 50.0% to 86.7% and from 49.0% to 85.6%, respectively (P < 0.05). Conclusion. The study showed that peer education is effective in improving knowledge, attitude, and some preventive practices towards HIV/AIDS among in-school adolescents. Educational programmes about HIV/AIDS should therefore be designed to target this age group putting into consideration their unique characteristics.

The Role of Health Education on Emerging Diseases: A Systematic Review

“…*The studies that surveyed interventions were carried out without the use of theories and models of health education [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…In the third month the barbers 'knowledge was assessed again by using the initial questionnaire. The results of this intervention make us to think and pay attention to media campaigns that can increase the public awareness about blood diseases, and training personnel that may harm people through unsafe operations [16].…”

The Positive Impact of School-Based Peer Education Program Towards Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Systematic Review

“…The six studies above showed that sexual and reproductive education programs, in general, have positive impact to change teenagers sexual behavior (Adeleye et al, 2014;de Lijster, Felten, Kok, & Kocken, 2016;Denison et al, 2012;Mahat, Scoloveno, & Scoloveno, 2016;Menna, Ali, & Worku, 2015;Odundo, Anjuri, & Odhiambo) and other studies showed no significance between the health education school with sexual behavior (Jennings, Howard, & Perotte, 2014). However one study that shows two sexual behavior indicates that there is a significant one partner's behavior and sexual intercourse to abstain for a year in post © 2017 The author and GRDS Publishing.…”

“…Other studies using a sample large enough, i.e., more than 400 students, while the study only used a total of 155 students. However, when referring to the length of each intervention studies, studies with sma ll sample amount done in a period of 12 months, whereas other studies with a large number of samples but use a shorter intervention time not necessarily able to demonstrate quite right results (Adeleye et al, 2014;Menna et al, 2015).…”

Achievements and Implications of HIV Prevention Programme among In-School Youths: A Systematic Evaluation of HAF II Project in Kogi State, Nigeria

“…In addition, the proportion of men and women reporting high risk sexual intercourse in the state is very high (19% women & 52% men), while 28% of men were reported to have paid for sex on several occasions in the year prior to the report [11]. A study carried out by [12] identified that peer education is an effective intervention approach among in-school youths. Adeomi et al, [12] stated this because the knowledge of the study group increased as compared to the control group as it regards HIV/AIDS.…”