Effects of a gender-specific sexual health promotion program (‘female
doctor’s lesson’) in schools
C. Klapp (1,2), G. Gille (2), C. Thomas (3), I. Schönborn (1)
Department of Obstetrics, Charité Virchow Hospital, Humboldt University
of Berlin, Germany (1); Medical Association of Women’s Health Promotion, GGF
e.V. Düsseldorf, Germany (2); Research Unit Child and Adolescent Health, Robert
Koch Institute Berlin, Germany (3)
Introduction: Numbers of pregnancies and abortions in young girls –
particularly in very young girls from 10 to 14 years of age – have increased
rapidly since 1996. Girls in that age group seem to overestimate their knowledge
concerning sexuality, pregnancy and contraception as well as STDs. We deal with
a media-experienced generation, who has heard a lot but understood very few and
feel highly under pressure to have their own sexual experiences very early.
Aims and methods: 1.911 students grade 6 and grade 9/10 (aged 10 to
18) were randomized into intervention and control groups. The intervention group
attended a special ‘doctor’s lesson’ Pre (T1) and post (T3) intervention
questionnaires (T1-T3=2 weeks) combined 57 items covering actual knowledge, 62
items for actual feelings and attitudes and 14 epidemiologic items. After the
interventional lesson (T2) the students had to rate the comprehensibility and
usefulness of this lesson.
Results: At T 1, before intervention, we found large knowledge
deficiencies in both groups. Only 39% of the answers were correct. In 90%
comprehensibility and usefulness of the intervention was estimated as good and
very good. In grade 6 more than 50% of the girls didn’t know about the first
menstruation being connected to the possibility of getting pregnant. So did 25%
of the girls in grade 9/ 10. Two weeks after our interventional lesson 88% of
the younger and 91% of the older girls were able to answer the questions
properly. The same lack in general knowledge could be observed with respect to
topics like ‘morning after pill’s, ’menstruation’ and ‘sexually
transmitted diseases’. After a 90 minutes intervention, the overall increase
of knowledge was extremely high with 32% in grade 9/ 10 and 84% in grade 6.
Discussion: Age related medical information by female doctors for
female students – empathic, but competent – could improve the knowledge of
students effectively and could therefore play an important role in the promotion
of sexual health and primary prevention of pregnancy in young girls.
