Sex ed on campus: integrating comprehensive sexual health education into first-year seminar curriculum

Students enter college and university campuses with staggeringly varied sexual health education backgrounds. This is due, in part, to sub-par sexual health curricula available through public secondary schools across the United States (US), made apparent through, among other things, one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world. In order to provide students with the education and tools necessary for protecting against sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies, this thesis proposes an innovative model for integrating comprehensive sexual health education into a first-year seminar course. Rooted in peer education, teaching assistants (TAs) for the first-year seminar serve as educators and mentors for students enrolled in the course. Health center staff will provide administrative support and training for peer TA/educators, and monitor program progress through a two-phase, three year implementation period. Longitudinal monitoring of course enrollee behavior will allow program staff to assess any changes in student sexual health knowledge and behavior after course completion. If implemented, this model has the potential to significantly impact the public health of college and university campuses in the US through an innovative framework for expanded comprehensive sexual health education