IMPACT OF HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM ON ADOLESCENT'S SEXUALITY AMONG STUDENTS OF GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS

IMPACT OF HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM ON ADOLESCENT'S SEXUALITY AMONG STUDENTS OF GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS

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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Adolescence, or puberty, is a period of great opportunity and hope. It is the period between childhood and adulthood when young people undergo physical, mental, and emotional changes. This period can be confusing for some adolescents because most become sexually active without having the knowledge required to manage their sexual behaviour (Mlyakado, 2013), due to biological factors caused by hormone changes (Walcott, Meyers, & Landau, 2018). When a growing person enters puberty (adolescence) he or she becomes interested in sex, but is emotionally immature and frequently ignorant. While others manage to make the transition to adulthood without getting involved in risky sexual behaviours, others fail to overcome the challenges of this critical stage and eventually miss the opportunity to realize their full potential in life. The main reason is that most of them are sexual health illiterate.

Adolescents who fail to manage their biological changes are driven by emotions that are associated with the increase of hormones during adolescence. Most of them are susceptible to risky sexual behaviours, such as underage sexual intercourse, having sexual intercourse with many partners, and participating in unprotected sexual activities (Mlyakado, 2013). These adversely affect their future health outcomes through such things as increasing their chances of getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS, and becoming school dropouts because of pregnancy (Walcott et al., 2018). One of the most significant commitments a country can make to its economic, social, and political progress, and to its stability, is to invest in the growth and development needs of its adolescents, which includes educating them about sexual health.

Health education is aimed to make individuals aware of the negative consequences risky behaviour. Different researchers have defined health education among which is the Joint Committee on Terminology (2011) definition that health education as any combination of planned learning experiences based on sound theories that provide individuals, group and communities the opportunity to acquire information and the skills needed to make quality health decisions. Owie (2013) opined that health education is a systematic process that persuades people to adopting behaviours that are beneficial and rejection of those behaviours that are detrimental to their health. Green and Kreuter (2015) further described health education as any planned combination of learning experiences designed to predispose, enable and reinforce voluntary behaviour conducive to health in individuals, groups and communities.

Health education has created a lot of positive impact as found in various intervention studies and thus, a reproductive health education intervention programme improves the knowledge and attitude of adolescents. Impact is a marked effect or influence of an activity on a behaviour. Hence, impact of health education can be seen as effect observed after health education has taken place. Impact of health education can be found in studies such as Malleshappa, Krishana and Nandino, (2011), Etemad, Shereef and Fathalla (2009), Gao et al (2012), and Rao, Lena, Kamath and Kamath (2008), Mba, Obi and Ozumba (2009) which showed a significant (p<0.05) improvement in overall knowledge of reproductive health, positive and permissive attitude towards reproductive health and a drop in risky sexual behaviour following the intervention on health education. Although the efficiency of health education remains contentious, it nonetheless has its own merits.

Sexual health education programmes in many countries aim to impart adolescents with the information they need to make informed decisions related to sexual issues during adolescence (Mueller, Gavin, & Kulkarni, 2008). Sexual health education is improving and is reducing cases associated with irresponsible sexual behaviour within the adolescent age group. Adolescents who are sexual health illiterate are more likely to participate in underage sexual intercourse, unsafe sex, and sexual assault (Che, 2005; Peter, 2013; Shegesha, 2015). Cervical cancer, unplanned pregnancies, and dropping out of school (Eggers et al., 2016; Mathews et al., 2012; Sommer, Likindikoki, & Kaaya, 2015; Kirby, 2002; K. Mkumbo et al., 2009; Smith & Harrison, 2013; Speizer et al., 2003) are more common among those who have underage sexual intercourse. These adverse effects may not only affect their childhood but could also prove detrimental to their adult life—socially, culturally and economically (Shemsanga, 2013; Ubora wa Afya kwa Familia Duniani, 2001).

Sexual health education teaches adolescents how to make right decisions about their sexual behaviour and improve their health status (Buston, Wight, Hart, & Scott, 2002; Daniel Wight, Plummer, & Ross, 2012). These initiatives have been jointly implemented by international and local organisations. Various national and international movements support adolescents’ rights to sexual health-related information. In order to determine the most effective approach to establishing sexual health literacy, we conducted a literature review pertinent to the adolescent sexual health education approaches currently being used globally, and in Africa and Tanzania respectively.

STATEMENT OF THE ROBLEM

Like all people, adolescents develop gradually into adulthood. This process includes sexual development, which consists of an interaction between physical, cognitive, mental, social, relational, ethical, religious and cultural factors (Durojaiye, 2015). While health education can support adolescents in their sexual development and contribute to their health and well being, many do not receive sexuality education that is oriented to their needs and development, promotes a positive image of sexuality, or aims to empower them (Obionu,  2019).

Research has revealed that secondary school children receive less sexuality education than expected. This may be due to the fact that most educators tend to believe that primary school students are too young to know about sex.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this study is to examine the impact of health education program on adolescent's sexuality among students of government secondary schools. Specifically, this study seeks to:

1. Determine the extent to which adolescents engage in sexual practices in Government secondary schools.
2. Ascertain whether health education program is effectively implemented in Government secondary schools.
3. Ascertain whether health education program enhances adolescents' sexual knowledge in Government secondary schools.
4. Determine whether health education program helps to curtail sexuality behavior of Government secondary school students.
5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in this study:

1. To what extent do adolescents engage in sexual practices in Government secondary schools?
2. Is health education program effectively implemented in Government secondary schools?
3. Does health education program enhance adolescents' sexual knowledge in Government secondary schools?
4. Does health education program help to curtail sexuality behavior of Government secondary school students?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Teenage boys and girls need this study because it will help them get information about sexual health, make decisions that will help them have a good future, and learn how to deal with sexuality and relationships in a satisfying and responsible way. Religious groups, policymakers, educators, parents, and community/opinion leaders will find the study's recommendations useful because they will help them make effective policies in favor of sex education in schools, increase campaigns about the need to include sex education in school curriculum, dispel any myths and misconceptions about sex education in schools in African societies, and make it easier for everyone to get access to sexual and reproductive health education. Sexual and reproductive health is also important on a global scale right now. Three of the eight internationally agreed-upon Millennium Development Goals have to do with it directly: MDG 3, which is about gender equality, MDG 5, which is about maternal health, and MDG 6, which is about HIV/AIDS.

This study will be greatly significant to the educational sector as the findings of this study will reveal how important health education is to secondary school students and and the different barriers that prevent the effective teaching of sex education in secondary schools. Finally, the study would primarily serve as a baseline survey for further research on sexuality education and health.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is focused on the impact of health education program on adolescent's sexuality among students of government secondary schools. Specifically, this study is focused on determining the extent to which adolescents engage in sexual practices in Government secondary schools, ascertaining whether health education program is effectively implemented in Government secondary schools, ascertaining whether health education program enhances adolescents' sexual knowledge in Government secondary schools and determining whether health education program helps to curtail sexuality behavior of Government secondary school students.

Teachers and students from selected secondary schools in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State will serve as the respondents for this study.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to on the impact of health education program on adolescent's sexuality among students of government secondary schools. Specifically, this study is limited to determining the extent to which adolescents engage in sexual practices in Government secondary schools, ascertaining whether health education program is effectively implemented in Government secondary schools, ascertaining whether health education program enhances adolescents' sexual knowledge in Government secondary schools and determining whether health education program helps to curtail sexuality behavior of Government secondary school students.

Teachers and students from selected secondary schools in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State will serve as the respondents for this study, hence further research is needed before the findings of this study can be used anywhere else.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Impact: A marked effect or influence

Health education: defined it as “a combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary actions conducive to health.”

Sex education: is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, age of consent, reproductive health, reproductive rights, sexual health, safe sex and birth control. Sex education which includes all of these issues is known as comprehensive sex education, and is often opposed to abstinence-only sex education, which only focuses on sexual abstinence. Sex education may be provided by parents or caregivers, or as part at school programs and public health campaigns. In some countries it is known as Relationships and Sexual health education.

 

 

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