Abstract
Background and objectives: Sex education is a necessity and a right of young people in Angola. However, this education is deficient or even absent in various subsystems and, therefore, the impact of an educational intervention on human biology and sexuality was addressed. Materials and methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a non-equivalent control group, pre-test post-test design. It was conducted with students from three secondary schools (6th to 12th grade, two public and one private) in Huambo (Angola), between June and December 2017. First, a questionnaire was distributed to assess the students’ knowledge on aspects related to sexual maturation, psychological development, gynecological organs’ anatomy, human fertilization, contraception, and risks of unprotected sexuality. Then, an educational program was developed by the principal investigator along with the school’s moral and civic education and biology teachers selected for a group of students (experimental group, EG); the others constituted the control group (CG). Classes were held on non-working days, on Saturday mornings (8:00 to 10:00 a.m.), so as not to interfere with the school calendar. The initial questionnaire was redistributed two months later to assess the impact of the intervention. Results: Of the 589 individuals included (mean age of 16.8 ± 2.5 years), 56.7% were males. EG (n = 241) consisted of students from the public school and CG (n = 348) by students from public and private schools. The last part of the questionnaire consisted of 30 questions to assess students’ knowledge, and in 23 of these questions, both groups showed no differences at baseline. After the intervention, the EG showed significant improvements (p < 0.05), while the CG revealed only slight improvements. Conclusions: Students from Huambo province have a significant lack of knowledge on human biology and sexuality. Rigorous development and evaluation of interventions addressing multiple individual and environmental level factors is needed, notably for effective education in human biology and sexuality.
Highlights
Sex education is called the age-appropriate teaching of sex and intimate human relations, that is culturally relevant and provides scientifically correct and realistic information [1,2]
No action has been taken so far to allow the implementation of sex education during a school year, and this delay in passing and implementing legislation will have a negative impact on the goals and empowerment of men and woman as adolescents, young people or adults, reducing birth rates and improving other indicators, such as those associated with the country’s development, especially maternal, peri and neonatal mortality, as well as the number of clandestine abortions and their consequences
We found that the age of sexual activity onset is earlier in boys and in the EG
Summary
Sex education is called the age-appropriate teaching of sex and intimate human relations, that is culturally relevant and provides scientifically correct and realistic information [1,2]. Sex education is a necessity and a right of young people in Angola This education is deficient or even absent in various subsystems and, the impact of an educational intervention on human biology and sexuality was addressed. Materials and methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a non-equivalent control group, pre-test post-test design It was conducted with students from three secondary schools (6th to 12th grade, two public and one private) in Huambo (Angola), between June and December 2017. Rigorous development and evaluation of interventions addressing multiple individual and environmental level factors is needed, notably for effective education in human biology and sexuality
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