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Socio‐Ecological Factors Associated With Students' Perceived Impact of an Evidence‐Based Sexual Health Education Curriculum
Author(s) -
Markham Christine M.,
Peskin Melissa F.,
Baumler Elizabeth R.,
Addy Robert C.,
Thiel Melanie A.,
Laris B. A.,
Baker Kimberly,
Hernandez Belinda,
Shegog Ross,
Coyle Karin,
Emery Susan Tortolero
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12908
Subject(s) - curriculum , reproductive health , demographics , logistic regression , proxy (statistics) , psychology , demography , medicine , clinical psychology , gerontology , medical education , environmental health , population , pedagogy , machine learning , sociology , computer science
BACKGROUND Although schools often implement evidence‐based sexual health education programs to address sexual and reproductive health disparities, multiple factors may influence program effectiveness. METHODS Using student‐reported perceived impact measures as a proxy for program effectiveness, we employed a socio‐ecological approach to examine student, teacher, school, and district factors associated with greater perceived impact of It's Your Game (IYG), an evidence‐based middle school sexual health education program. The student sample was 58.7% female, 51.8% Hispanic, mean age 13.2 years, from 73 middle schools. We assessed students' (N = 4531) perceived impact of IYG on healthy decision‐making (α = 0.75) and sexual communication (α = 0.71); satisfaction with IYG activities and teacher; and demographics. We assessed teachers' (N = 56) self‐efficacy to teach IYG, perceived administrative support, implementation barriers, and demographics. School and district data were abstracted from state records. We used multilevel logistic regression to estimate associations between independent variables and student‐reported perceived impact. RESULTS In final multivariate models, students' demographics (sex, β = 0.06, SE = 0.015), satisfaction with IYG (β = 0.21, SE = 0.012), and their IYG teacher (β = 0.18, SE = 0.013) (all p = .000) were significantly associated with perceived impact on healthy decision‐making. Similar findings resulted for sexual communication. No other variables were significantly associated with perceived impact. CONCLUSIONS Helping schools select age‐appropriate, culturally relevant programs, and facilitate supportive learning environments may enhance the perceived impact of sexual health education programs.