Health education research
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Health education research · Oct 1999
Consulting the 'experts': children's and parents' perceptions of psycho-educational interventions in the context of juvenile chronic arthritis.
There is little documented information regarding current provision of psycho-educational interventions in the context of juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). The purpose of the present exploratory study was to gain insight and understanding of the needs and preferences of children with JCA and their parents, and to examine how these may be more adequately addressed by future psycho-educational interventions. Data were collected through focus group discussions with children, parents and health professionals, respectively. ⋯ Moreover, content should be tailored to match broad categories of disease severity (e.g. mild or severe), developmental age and stage in the life course (e.g. child or adolescent). Group education, informal support groups, activity weekends and summer camps would be particularly welcomed by parents and children, and may serve to reduce their sense of isolation whilst providing much needed reassurance. Findings provide a useful set of signposts to guide future development of psycho-educational interventions in the field of psychosocial paediatric rheumatology.
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Health education research · Oct 1999
A school-based AIDS education programme for secondary school students in Nigeria: a review of effectiveness.
Nigerian secondary school students are becoming sexually active at an increasing earlier age. Sexually active students are at risk of contacting STDs, including HIV infection. As a result, health education initiatives to increase level of knowledge, influence attitudes and encourage safe sexual practices are being implemented in schools, but the effectiveness of these programmes have not been evaluated. ⋯ After the intervention, the mean number of reported sexual partners among the experimental students significantly decreased from 1.51 to 1.06, while it increased from 1.3 to 1.39 among the controls. Among the intervention students there was also an increase in consistent use of the condom and the use of the condom at last sexual intercourse. We conclude that students can benefit from specific education programmes that transmit important information necessary to prevent risky behavior, and improve knowledge and attitudes on HIV/AIDS.