Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

A 19 activity extracurricular school-based AIDS education programme lasting 1 year was conducted in rural southwestern Uganda using specially trained teachers, and was evaluated using mutually supportive quantitative and qualitative methods. In total, 1274 students from 20 intervention schools and 803 students from 11 control schools completed questionnaires at baseline, and their classes were followed up. In addition, 93 students from five of the intervention schools participated in 12 focus group discussions. The programme had very little effect--seven of the nine key questionnaire variables showed no significant increase in score after the intervention. Data from the focus group discussions suggest that the programme was incompletely implemented, and that key activities such as condoms and the role-play exercises were covered only very superficially. The main reasons for this were a shortage of classroom time, as well as teachers' fear of controversy and the unfamiliar. We conclude that large-scale comprehensive school-based AIDS education programmes in sub-Saharan Africa may be more completely implemented if they are fully incorporated into national curricula and examined as part of life-skills education. This would require teachers to be trained in participatory teaching methods while still at training college.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/her/16.1.85

Type

Journal article

Journal

Health Educ Res

Publication Date

02/2001

Volume

16

Pages

85 - 100

Keywords

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Adolescent, Child, Health Education, Humans, Program Evaluation, Rural Population, School Health Services, Surveys and Questionnaires, Uganda