Effect of peer education intervention on secondary school adolescents' reproductive health knowledge in Saki, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

Adolescents' reproductive health needs and problems have become contemporary concerns globally. Of great concern is the high rate of sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS arguably influenced by lack of reproductive health knowledge.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed at examining the effect of peer education on school adolescents' reproductive health knowledge in Saki, Southwestern, Nigeria, in a nurse-led concurrently controlled community interventional study.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The study employed pre - and post - intervention (quasi - experimental) design. The experimental group was exposed to the peer education programme for six months. Pre and post differential data in the experimental and control groups were compared and analysed using analysis of covariance.

RESULTS

The intervention had significant effect on adolescents in the experimental group compared with the control group in the area of knowledge of reproductive health issues (F1,519) = 37.117, (p < .05).

CONCLUSION

The intervention significantly improved the adolescents' reproductive health knowledge. It is recommended that community health nurses as well as other community workers should embrace peer education approach as a strategy to empower adolescents with reproductive health knowledge.