Teen Sexual Health

Building Healthy Sexual Behaviour In Teens

Resources To Educate Teens About Sexuality And Sexual Health

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to offer teachers, school counselors, youth workers, and community health nurses this resource to support healthy adolescent development in our communities. The resource was developed in collaboration with high school students during the Parkgate Youth Sexual Health Project.

What Was The Parkgate Youth Sexual Health Project?

The Parkgate Youth Sexual Health Project, Building Healthy Sexual Behaviour In Teens took place between September 2003 and August 2004 in the Seymour area of North Vancouver, British Columbia. The key to the project's success was the engagement and collaboration of a cross-section of community stakeholders, including youth.

Following requests for support from local teen peer counselors and youth workers in building healthy sexuality among teens, Parkgate Community Health Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health, North Shore, submitted a proposal to the BC Centre for Disease Control. Funding was received in August 2003. The project was designed to incorporate a multi-educational approach, the primary audience being youth, aged 13 to 18 year-old, with youth workers and parents as secondary targets. It is hoped that peer support will increase awareness, combat misinformation, and enable local youth to readily access relevant sexual health and HIV/AIDS information and education.

Project Phases:

• Teen Health Educator Training; a group of older teens was trained to work with younger youth
• Community (Youth) Consultation; teen health educators gathered and analyzed information about youth sexuality from their younger peers through a community mapping process. This information served as the foundation for the development of the curriculum and resource modules
• Curriculum Development
• Workshop Implementation
• Resource Development
• Parents' Forum

The Future

The model created from this project will be extended through out the North Shore region as a way of dealing with sexual health and other teen health issues such as stress and depression, bullying and other forms of violence, tobacco, and drug and alcohol use. The project was intended to provide education to improve teen decision-making and increase self-esteem, and ultimately, health outcomes. Requests from individuals and agencies across the province indicate that it is a model that can be used throughout British Columbia.