Computer-based Sex Education for High School Students

Adolescents are four times more likely than other age groups to contract chlamydia or gonorrhea. In the USA, young people between 15 to 24 years of age acquire almost half of all newly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STI) a year. The purpose of this computer-based sex education EBP project was to increase student knowledge regarding transmission, disease process, and treatment for STIs, as well as to reduce high risk sexual behaviors. The evidence-based practice model for change and the Modeling, Role-Modeling nursing theory guided this project. Computer-based sex education is supported in research. Articles critiqued, utilizing Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2011) levels of evidence, were at a level six or higher. The setting for this project, a rural high school (HS) in Michigan, does not have a sex education curriculum. Yet, Michigan requires a student to have STI and HIV/AIDS education at least once during HS. In this EBP project, freshmen biology students received one 50 minute class that provided computer-based sex education modules. Students viewed the educational modules on their individual laptop computers with headphones. Prior to receiving the computer-based sex education, freshmen and senior students received a survey with pretest through zoomerang.com. Two months after implementation of the computer-based sex education, the same survey with post-test were administered to freshmen and senior students, also through zoomerang.com. Data from the survey were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics. Freshmen students increased knowledge of sexual health after computer-based sex education and reduced sexual activity in the two months after implementation. However, the computer-based sex education did not increase condom use among those who were sexually active. Providing students with a demonstration of proper condom use in future educational modules may assist with improving condom use among those that are sexually active