Sex education in the inner city. Learning and retention

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Education
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Sex education in schools is crucial for adolescent development.
• Effective and accessible curricula are needed for junior high students.
• The Discovery program was developed to address these needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Discovery program in improving sex education knowledge.
• To assess knowledge retention among participants.
• To determine if socioeconomic status, grade, or sex influenced learning outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental study involving 1,133 seventh and eighth graders.
• Delivery of a two-part, one-hour sex education program by medical student volunteers.
• Comparison with a control group of 126 students who did not receive the program.

Main Results:

• A 32% improvement in knowledge scores was observed in the intervention group.
• Excellent knowledge retention was demonstrated.
• No significant impact of socioeconomic status, grade, or sex on the degree of learning was found.

Conclusions:

• The Discovery program is a highly effective sex education intervention for junior high students.
• The program demonstrates significant learning gains and excellent retention.
• Its low cost and ease of implementation make it a potential model for other school systems.