The Effectiveness of Health Education and Media Using Local Language in Improving Reproductive Health Knowledge Among Adolescents

Abstract

Health education and media have been identified as strategies to improve adolescents' reproductive health knowledge, but barriers can be influenced by cultural context, including language. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of health education and media using the local language in improving reproductive health knowledge among adolescents in Bhuana Giri Village, Karangasem. The research design is a quasiexperimental two-group pre-posttest design, and purposive sampling was used to select the samples. A total of 50 students aged 12 to 17 years participated in the study. The first group received health education and media in the local language on reproductive health topics, while the other group received the same topics in the national language. Data analysis used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann-Whitney test with a significant level of 0.05. The results showed that both interventions led to significant improvements in reproductive health knowledge. There was an effect of giving health education and media using the local language (p<0.001) and the national language (p=0.004). Based on the results of the Mann-Whitney test, there was a significant difference in effectiveness with p=0.005, and using the local language proved more effective in increasing adolescents' knowledge about reproductive health. Health education and media using the local language enable effective communication and interaction to avoid misunderstandings that can arise. The study's findings underscore the potential of culturally tailored educational materials to enhance learning outcomes in public health initiatives for adolescents.