School-Based
HIV, STD, and Pregnancy Prevention Education:
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PROGRAMS Reducing the Risk: Building the skills to prevent Be Proud! Be Responsible! Strategies to empower Get Real About AIDS 2nd edition, High School level Program summaries are taken from the Programs the Work! curriculum and evaluation fact sheets produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health. Permission is granted to reproduce all or part of this document with appropriate citations. For more information on HIV/AIDS education and prevention: CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse 1-800-458-5231 CDC National AIDS Hotline 1-800-342-AIDS |
In recognition
of the need for evaluated school-based programs designed to reduce
sexual risk-taking behavior, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) convened a panel of 13 experts to synthesize the
existing research in this area.
met the following selection criteria:
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Study evaluated a school based HIV/STD or pregnancy prevention program |
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Study measured reported sexual behaviors or health outcomes (i.e. pregnancy rates, birth rates, or STD rates) |
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Study was published, or accepted for publication, in a peer-refereed journal |
The research
synthesis found that no evaluated programs had harmful effects.
That is none of the programs hastened the onset of first intercourse
or increase the frequency of sexual intercourse. Some of the programs
had positive effects–they delayed the onset of sexual intercourse
and/or increased the use of condoms or other contraceptives.
What did the
successful programs look like?
content analysis of these programs revealed several important characteristics.
Those who select or develop school-based programs to reduce sexual
risk behaviors might use these characteristics as a basis for their
decisions. The characteristics include:
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Targeting a specific risk behavior (e.g. unprotected sexual intercourse) |
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Using social learning theory |
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Personalizing risk information, making students feel more vulnerable |
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Addressing social and media influences that pressure teens into having sexual intercourse |
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Reinforcing norms against unprotected sex |
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Providing practice in communication skills to help with refusal and negotiation |
apply research to prevention programs for youth is the identification
of “Programs That Work!”. These are curricula that have
been evaluated and found to reduce sexual risk behaviors for HIV infection.
The results of the evaluation must have been accepted for publication
in a peer-reviewed journal. Curricula that met these conditions passed
through a two stage review process: a set of evaluation experts and
another set of program experts reviewed the journal reprint of the
study and then considered the strength of the research findings and
their generalizability to schools nationwide.
identified through this process. The following pages briefly describe
each curriculum and provide information about how to obtain the materials.
Support for
this document was provided through Cooperative Agreement U87/CCU/310178-01
with the Division of Adolescent and School Health, Center for Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Reference: Kirby,
D., Short, L., Collins, J., Rugg, D., Kolbe, L., Howard, M., Miller,
B., Sonenstein, F. and Zabin, L.S. (1994). School-based programs
to reduce sexual risk behaviors: A review of effectiveness. Public
Health Reports, 103 (3), 339-360.