Study of Reproductive and Sexual Health Education of Adolescents

Agency : ICMR, New Delhi.

The main aim of this operations research study was to develop a feasible model for providing reproductive and sexual health education to school-going adolescents in different parts of India. It was a multi-centric study carried out by six different institutions each in Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Pune, Trivandrum and Kolkotta.

The study had three components: a base line study, a school-based education programme and an end of project evaluation of interventions. The project was designed for school-going adolescent boys and girls studying in 9th and 11th standards. The main objectives were:

  • To undertake a situation analysis to assess the adolescents', parents' and teachers' perception of and attitude towards reproductive and sexual health issues and education and to set benchmarks for intervention study
  • To develop a reproductive and sexual health education module for school-going adolescents
  • To provide reproductive and sexual health education to adolescents in selected urban and rural schools in different parts of India
  • To evaluate the impact of educational interventions on adolescents awareness, knowledge gains, attitudinal changes and sexual behaviour

In the first phase of the study a base line study was carried out to understand the perception, attitude and behaviour of adolescents towards reproductive and sexual health issues. Information was collected from adolescents, parents and teachers. A total of 1451 adolescent boys and girls, 439 parents and 171 teachers participated. In the second phase, specific training material (in Hindi) was developed (base material was provided by ICMR). Six training modules were developed on specific themes, namely growing-up concerns of adolescents; reproductive and sexual health; body image; interpersonal and gender relationships; understanding RTI/STI and HIV/AIDS; and life skill development.


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