Incorporation of a sex education program in health care centers in Tehran, Iran

Objective (s): Sexual health is increasingly recognized as an integral part of health. Despite admirable efforts to meet reproductive health needs in Iran, there are as yet no comprehensive sex education programs in this country.

In this study we used a matched intervention-control site design in 14 urban health centers with random selection of 160 (80 in each group) participants to evaluate a sex education program in Iran. Qualitative methods were used in a needs assessment study that also determined the content and delivery method of the program. The intervention consisted of training health providers to deliver a short educational program to female clients. Evaluation questionnaires were completed before and 6 weeks after the intervention.

There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between the intervention and control groups. We observed a statistically significant impact on knowledge (median scores increased from 7.02 tol3.52 and from 6.38 to 6.9 in the intervention and control groups respectively) and attitudes (mean scores increased from 88.35 to 98.98 and decreased from 89.8 to 88.76 in the intervention and control groups respectively). There was also a statistically significant change in intentions and behavior.

This study showed that effective education can be achieved by appropriate choice of location and target population (based on cultural norms), and adopting the content to the people's religious and cultural background.