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Reducing the Risk- Rural schools

An Evidence-Based Practice

This practice has been Archived and is no longer maintained.

Description

Reducing the Risk contains 16 lessons and is designed for students in grades 9-12. The curriculum is taught by high school or middle school instructors and is designed to be part of a comprehensive sexuality education program.

The curriculum contains the following characteristics: 1) a narrow focus on a small number of specific behavioral goals; 2) a foundation in social learning theory and social influence theories; 3) activities that personalize information on the risks of unprotected sex and how to avoid those risks; 4) training about social influences; 5) support for personal values and group norms against unprotected intercourse; 6) exercises to develop skills; and 7) training for persons delivering the program.

Goal / Mission

The goal of the program was to reduce the risk for pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease by one or more of the following behaviors: a delay in initiating sexual intercourse; a reduction in the number of sexual partners and acts of intercourse; or an increase in contraception use.

Results / Accomplishments

When observing posttest data (18 months following intervention) for students who were not sexually active at pretest, 19 of the 69 students (27.5%) in the treatment group and 24 of 56 students (42.9%) in the comparison group reported becoming sexually active. This difference was significant (p<0.05), indicating that significantly fewer students became sexually active after receiving the Reducing the Risk program.

Students in the treatment groups who became sexually active had a significantly higher use of STD/HIV prevention and pregnancy prevention compared to the comparison group (p<0.05). Students in the treatment group also experienced a significant increase in communication between students and their parents regarding birth control and protection from STD/HIV (p<0.05).

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
University of Central Arkansas
Primary Contact
Laurie Rose, Director of Customer Support
Sociometrics Corporation
170 State Street, Suite 260
Los Altos, CA 94022-2812
(650) 383-6253
lrose@socio.com
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org
Topics
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Family Planning
Organization(s)
University of Central Arkansas
Source
Journal of School Health
Date of publication
1998
Location
Arkansas
For more details
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9719998
Target Audience
Teens

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Related Content for: Reducing the Risk- Rural schools

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
Michigan Health Improvement Alliance