How Effective is Peer Education in Addressing Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs in Developing Countries?

Abstract

This review article questions the assumptions at the core of peer education interventions adopted in young people’s sexual and reproductive health programmes in developing countries. Peer education is a more complex and problematic approach than its popularity with development agencies and practitioners implies. Its rise to prominence is more indicative of the desire to find effective tools to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic, than of peer education’s proven effectiveness. The often simplistic model of social relations that underlies peer education interventions leads to the reinforcement of gendered power relations, and a failure to take account of the social dynamics of poverty. The dominant rationales for peer education are examined and contested. In spite of the mismatch between rhetoric and experience, the appeal of the approach remains powerful, stemming largely from the objective of engaging young people in health interventions in a way that increases their autonomy and capacity.

Education for social change? A Freirean critique of sport for development and peace

“…Part of the problem seems to lie in the training of peer educators which, as illustrated in the example above, often focuses on the transference of factual information rather than encouraging them to use or reflect on their own experiences and circumstances (Price and Knibbs 2009). Furthermore, due to peer leader training often being developed either solely or at least in partnership with Global North agencies, individual outcomes are frequently prioritized at the expense of collective mobilization opportunities, resulting in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 449 training and delivery that focus on supporting young people to gain individual benefits such as increased self-awareness and self-confidence (Campbell and MacPhail 2002).…”

“…unprotected sex and alcohol and drug use) and attempt to devise solutions and strategies to navigate these within their everyday lives (Mwaanga 2010). Whilst analysis of peer education within SDP programmes has been very limited, broader development studies have begun to debate whether it is an effective pedagogical strategy for fostering positive social change (Price and Knibbs 2009;Svenson and Burke 2005). Such research has questioned some of the principles of peer education, for example, whether young people do find their peers a more credible and approachable source of information than adults (Price and Knibbs 2009).…”

“…Whilst analysis of peer education within SDP programmes has been very limited, broader development studies have begun to debate whether it is an effective pedagogical strategy for fostering positive social change (Price and Knibbs 2009;Svenson and Burke 2005). Such research has questioned some of the principles of peer education, for example, whether young people do find their peers a more credible and approachable source of information than adults (Price and Knibbs 2009). Other literature has questioned whether peer education can realistically support young people to develop sufficient agency to challenge broader social structures and power dynamics within communities (Campbell and MacPhail 2002).…”

Transforming communities through sport? critical pedagogy and sport for development

“…Worse still, this pedagogical vacuum could lead peer educators to resort to the same type of didactic approach that Freire warned against. In practice, the use of the banking method in peer education can be observed, for instance, in the focus on the transference of factual information rather than encouraging peer educators to use and critically reflect on their own experiences and circumstances (Price & Knibbs, 2009). In light of the pressures highlighted above, this can be compounded by the monitoring and evaluation pressures imposed on SDP organizations by international donor agencies.…”

Effects of Peer-Facilitated, Video-Based and Combined Peer-and-Video Education on Anxiety Among Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: Randomised controlled trial

“…11 Peer-facilitated training is based on the social learning theory that people learn from each other via observation, imitation and modelling; patients can therefore benefit from their peers' experiences in terms of learning to cope with their illness or the planned investigation. 12 Video-based training may also reduce anxiety, stress and depression while a combination of both visual and auditory information is an effective tool to facilitate knowledge acquisition and retention, reduce anxiety, improve coping skills and increase self-care behaviours. 13,14 However, while the use of peer-facilitated and video-based patient education is well established worldwide, there is a lack of research on this topic in Iran.…”