Document Type

Brief

Publication Date

2003

Abstract

Young people in Kenya have limited knowledge of reproductive health (RH) and face many challenges in their transition to adulthood. Chief among these challenges is the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adults and its increasing incidence among rural youth. In 1999, FRONTIERS initiated a three-year project in Kenya to test the feasibility, effectiveness, and cost of interventions to improve adolescent RH. The project, implemented jointly with the Kenyan government and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), was part of a four-country study that examined ways to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of adolescents aged 10 to 19 years. The study took place in six rural communities in Kenya’s Western Province. Two sites received community and health interventions. Two additional sites also received a third school-based intervention, in which teachers, peer educators, and guidance counselors were trained to teach a “life skills curriculum” that included modules on RH, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS. Two control sites received the prevailing government services. As noted in this brief, community, health, and school interventions in rural Kenya increased understanding and discussion of adolescent RH, including prevention of HIV/AIDS, and encouraged safer sexual behavior among young people.

DOI

10.31899/rh2003.1004

Language

English

Project

Frontiers in Reproductive Health

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