How Sexuality Education Programs Have Been Evaluated in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries? A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Complex sexual and reproductive health interventions, such as sexuality education (SE), contain multiple components and activities, which often requires a comprehensive evaluation design and adaptation to a specific context. In this review, we synthetize available scientific literature on types of evaluation designs used for SE programs in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Methods: Two databases yielded 455 publications, from which 20 articles met the inclusion criteria. Narrative synthesis was used to summarize the findings. Evaluation approaches were compared to recommended evaluation frameworks. The quality of articles was assessed by using MMAT 2018. Results: A total of 15 interventions employed in 10 countries were evaluated in the 20 selected articles, with the quality of publications being moderate to high. Randomized controlled trial was the predominant study design, followed by quasi-experimental design. There were seven process evaluation studies, using mixed methods. Main outcomes reported were of public health or behavioral nature—condom use, sexual debut or delay, and number of sexual partners. By comparing evaluation designs to recommended frameworks, few studies fulfilled at least half of the criteria. Conclusions: Evaluations of SE are largely dominated by quantitative (quasi-)experimental designs and use of public health outcomes. To improve understanding of SE program effectiveness, it is important to assess the quality of the program development, its implementation, and its impact, using existing evaluation frameworks and recommendations.

Assessing the Opinion of Mothers about School-Based Sexual Education in Romania, the Country with the Highest Rate of Teenage Pregnancy in Europe

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Knowledge regarding Human Papilloma Virus, Related Diseases and Preventive Measures Among Female Undergraduates of a Selected University in Sri Lanka

“…In many societies, young women specially the undergraduates depart from the family environment to start their university education. They leave the restricted family environment and expose to wider society to find new experience in sexuality with peers and have easier access to internet and television-based sources to gain information and increasing their health literacy (Hettiarachchi, 2022;Ivanova et al, 2020). Though knowledge seeking in these aspects are poor in the current study, only a few had attempted to get the information through a few sources such as social media and peers.…”

Educação Sexual: Dificuldades dos Pais de Jovens com Síndrome de Down

“…A Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação, a Ciência e a Cultura (Unesco) define, na sua Orientação Técnica Internacional sobre Educação em Sexualidade (2009), que a educação sexual é um conjunto de intervenções marcado pela abordagem cultural, fundamentado na prática de ensinar sobre sexualidade e relacionamentos, que fornece informações científicas, precisas e sem julgamentos considerando a idade dos adolescentes. A educação sexual têm como objetivo melhorar vários componentes que se reforçam mutuamente: aumentar o conhecimento e a compreensão, explicar sentimentos, valores e atitudes, desenvolver ou fortalecer habilidades, e promover e sustentar comportamentos de redução de risco (Ivanova, Rai, Michielsen, & Dias, 2020).…”