Effect of Sex Education Programme on at-risk sexual behaviour of school-going adolescents in Ilorin, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Adolescents display sexual behaviours and developmental characteristics that place them at risk for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Because young people experiment sexually and because of the consequences of indiscriminate sexual activities on the youth, there is the need to mount sex education programmes that are geared towards enlightenment and appropriate education about sex and sexuality. OBJECTIVE To determine whether Sex Education Intervention Programme would reduce at-risk sexual behaviours of school-going adolescents. DESIGN Pre-test, post-test control group quasi-experimental design. SETTING A randomly selected co-educational school in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria. PARTICIPANTS 24 school-going adolescents aged 13-19 years. INTERVENTION Sex Education Programme (treatment group) versus Control programme (placebo). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reported exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, multiple sex partners, anal sex, oral sex, non use of condom. RESULT When the treatment (intervention) group was compared with the control group in an intention to treat analysis, there were significant differences in at-risk sexual behaviours of the two groups. Those in the intervention group reported less at-risk sexual behaviours than their counterparts in the control group. The treatment group evaluated the intervention programme positively and their knowledge of sexual health improved. Lack of behavioural effect on the control group could be linked to differential quality of delivery of intervention. CONCLUSION Compared with the control group, this specially designed intervention sex education programme reduced at-risk sexual behaviour in adolescents. Based on this finding, it was recommended that sex education be introduced into the curriculum of secondary school education in Nigeria.