Effectiveness of Comprehensive Sexual Health Education in 9th Graders of Hawaiʻi’s Public Charter School

Current results from the Hawai'i public high schools' Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicate that students continue to engage in risky sexual behaviors that may lead to sexually transmitted infections or unplanned teen pregnancies. This prompted a collaborative work between A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona 2nd year medical students and educators at a public charter school in Hawai'i to create a comprehensive sexual health education series. The series highlighted the importance of medically accurate knowledge to make informed decisions and promote personal health and wellness. It included lessons on: (1) reproductive anatomy, puberty, and menstruation, (2) pregnancy, family planning, and healthy relationships, (3) contraception, and (4) sexually transmitted infections (STI). Each lesson had a pre-presentation survey, the presentation, an interactive activity, a question and answer session, and a post-presentation survey. All post-presentation surveys showed a statistically significant increase in student knowledge (P<.001) indicating that medically accurate information can be effectively delivered to high school students. Students also reported that the activities with the lessons were educational and fun, as it taught them about their bodies, prevention of STI and unintended pregnancies, and the available resources for sexual health care and family planning. Collectively, the students had positive feedback on the lesson series.