School education fails to improve condom use

An interesting study based in Scotland that showed no increase in condom use even when students knowledge of condoms was improved. There persisted, despite education efforts, a sense that illness would not occur and thus condoms were thought not useful.

clipped from www.sciencedirect.com School-based education programmes may not be the answer to spiralling rates of sexually transmitted infections, analysis of a scheme in Scotland suggests. Healthy Respect, a classroom-based education programme delivered by trained teachers and nurses, produced no change in attitudes or intention to use condoms and no reduction in sexual intercourse in those under 16 years of age. The lack of behaviour change was clearly apparent despite teenagers having more knowledge of where to access condoms and how to use them effectively. A second phase of the project, running until 2008, is focusing on areas where the team feel more progress will be made, such as increasing access to drop-in centres. “Sexual health programmes at school alone will not substantially mitigate against the factors that are shaping young people's risky behaviour”, Tucker continued. She added that governments should stop funding unsustainable efforts and projects that are poorly thought-out.