International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 19, Number 10 > Pp. 704-710

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Gaydos, C A Articles by Stanton, B PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Original research articles

Focus-on-Teens, sexual risk-reduction intervention for high-school adolescents: impact on knowledge, change of risk-behaviours, and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases

C A Gaydos MPH DrPH ^* , Y-H Hsieh MSc PhD ^*, J S Galbraith MA PhD , M Barnes BS ^*, G Waterfield MS CPNP  and B Stanton MD  ^**

^* Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205; Department of Paediatrics, University of Maryland; Baltimore City Health Department, School Based Health Clinics; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI; ^** University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

Correspondence to: Dr Charlotte A Gaydos, 1159 Ross Building, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA Email: cgaydos{at}jhmi.edu

A community-based intervention, Focus-on-Kids (FOK) has demonstrated risk-behaviour reduction of urban youth. We modified FOK to Focus-on-Teens (FOT) for high schools. High school adolescents (n = 1190) were enrolled over successive school semesters. The small-group sessions were presented during the school-lunch hours. Confidential surveys were conducted at baseline, immediate, six-, and 12-month postintervention for demographics, parental communication/monitoring, sexual risk behaviours and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)/HIV/condom-usage knowledge. Sexually active participants were encouraged to volunteer for urine-based STDs testing at the School-Based Health Centres. Many (47.4%) students reported having had sexual intercourse at baseline. Overall behaviours changed towards ‘safer’ sex behaviours (intent-to-use and using condoms, communicating with partner/parents about sex/condoms/STDs) with time (P < 0.05). Proportion of students with complete correct knowledge of STDs/HIV increased to 88% at time 4 from 80% at baseline after adjusting for age, gender and sexual activity (P < 0.05). High prevalence of STDs was detected in 875 participants who reported for urine testing at time 1: trichomonas, 11.8%; chlamydia, 10.1% and gonorrhoea, 4.1%. Prevalence decreased significantly for 310 participants who re-tested; chlamydia: 27.4% to 6.1% and gonorrhoea: 11.3% to 3.2%. FOT was successfully implemented as an STDs/HIV risk-reduction intervention. Sustained improvements of knowledge about STDs/HIV/condom usage, decreases in sexual risk behaviours supported the effectiveness of this intervention.

Key Words: adolescents • STDs • behavioural intervention • HIV • high schools

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?