School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract Background School-based sexual health education has the potential to provide an inclusive and comprehensive approach to promoting sexual health among young people. We reviewed evaluations of school-based sexual health education interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to assess effectiveness in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2016-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-016-3715-4 |
| _version_ | 1819056463414296576 |
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| author | A. Sadiq Sani Charles Abraham Sarah Denford Susan Ball |
| author_facet | A. Sadiq Sani Charles Abraham Sarah Denford Susan Ball |
| author_sort | A. Sadiq Sani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background School-based sexual health education has the potential to provide an inclusive and comprehensive approach to promoting sexual health among young people. We reviewed evaluations of school-based sexual health education interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to assess effectiveness in reducing sexually transmitted infections and promoting condom use. Methods We searched ten electronic databases, hand-searched key journals, and reference lists of included articles for potential studies. Data were extracted on outcomes, intervention characteristics, methods and study characteristics indicative of methodological quality. Where possible, data were synthesized using random effect meta-analysis. Intervention features found predominantly in effective interventions were noted. Results The initial search retrieved 21634 potentially relevant citations. Of these, 51 papers reporting on 31 interventions were included. No evaluation reported statistically significant effects on the incidence or prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Herpes Simplex Virus 2 infections. However, intervention participants reported statistically significant greater condom use in both randomised controlled trials and non-randomised trials for short (less than 6 months) follow-up periods (OR = 1.62, 95 % CI = 1.03–2.55 and OR = 2.88, 95 % CI = 1.41–5.90 respectively). For intermediate (6–10 months) and long-term (more than 10 months) follow-up periods, the effect was statistically significant (OR = 1.40, 95 % CI = 1.16–1.68) and marginally significant (OR = 1.22, 95 % CI = 0.99–1.50) among the randomised trials respectively. Only 12 of the 31 interventions reported implementation details, out of which seven reported on fidelity. Conclusion School-based sexual health education has the potential to promote condom use among young people in sub-Saharan Africa. However, further work is needed to develop and evaluate interventions that have measurable effects on sexually transmitted infections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:23:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b87c532ba6f241089f3d56c10418ee9a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:23:49Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-b87c532ba6f241089f3d56c10418ee9a2022-12-21T19:02:31ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582016-10-0116112610.1186/s12889-016-3715-4School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysisA. Sadiq Sani0Charles Abraham1Sarah Denford2Susan Ball3Psychology Applied To Health, University of Exeter Medical SchoolPsychology Applied To Health, University of Exeter Medical SchoolPsychology Applied To Health, University of Exeter Medical SchoolNIHR CLAHRC South West Peninsula (PenCLAHRC), University of Exeter Medical SchoolAbstract Background School-based sexual health education has the potential to provide an inclusive and comprehensive approach to promoting sexual health among young people. We reviewed evaluations of school-based sexual health education interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to assess effectiveness in reducing sexually transmitted infections and promoting condom use. Methods We searched ten electronic databases, hand-searched key journals, and reference lists of included articles for potential studies. Data were extracted on outcomes, intervention characteristics, methods and study characteristics indicative of methodological quality. Where possible, data were synthesized using random effect meta-analysis. Intervention features found predominantly in effective interventions were noted. Results The initial search retrieved 21634 potentially relevant citations. Of these, 51 papers reporting on 31 interventions were included. No evaluation reported statistically significant effects on the incidence or prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Herpes Simplex Virus 2 infections. However, intervention participants reported statistically significant greater condom use in both randomised controlled trials and non-randomised trials for short (less than 6 months) follow-up periods (OR = 1.62, 95 % CI = 1.03–2.55 and OR = 2.88, 95 % CI = 1.41–5.90 respectively). For intermediate (6–10 months) and long-term (more than 10 months) follow-up periods, the effect was statistically significant (OR = 1.40, 95 % CI = 1.16–1.68) and marginally significant (OR = 1.22, 95 % CI = 0.99–1.50) among the randomised trials respectively. Only 12 of the 31 interventions reported implementation details, out of which seven reported on fidelity. Conclusion School-based sexual health education has the potential to promote condom use among young people in sub-Saharan Africa. However, further work is needed to develop and evaluate interventions that have measurable effects on sexually transmitted infections.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-016-3715-4Systematic reviewSchool-based sexual health educationSub-Saharan AfricaHIV/STI prevention |
| spellingShingle | A. Sadiq Sani Charles Abraham Sarah Denford Susan Ball School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis BMC Public Health Systematic review School-based sexual health education Sub-Saharan Africa HIV/STI prevention |
| title | School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full | School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_short | School-based sexual health education interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_sort | school based sexual health education interventions to prevent sti hiv in sub saharan africa a systematic review and meta analysis |
| topic | Systematic review School-based sexual health education Sub-Saharan Africa HIV/STI prevention |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-016-3715-4 |
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