Teen Sexual Health

Training Teen Health Educators

Human Sexuality | Social Issues | Health Promotion | Peer Education Skills | Workshop Delivery Preaparation

Overview

Resources:

• Building an Effective Teen Sexual Health Educator

Building an Effective Teen Sexual Health Educator

Through research and practice, peer education has been shown to be an effective way of influencing teen health behaviours. As highlighted through the community mapping work done with North Shore teens, friends and other peers play a powerful role during adolescence. Teens look to their peers to determine what is okay and what is not. This influence extends into the realm of sexuality and sexual health behaviours.

Teens are more likely to participate in discussions about sexuality that are lead by other youth. They are also more likely to believe the information provided by peer educators and to reconsider their own values and beliefs. This is likely because the teens see peer educators as people who share similar life experiences.

Knowing that teens listen to and are most influenced by their peers is a first step in designing an effective sexual health education program. The next step is ensuring that the peers who take on the change agent role have the skills, knowledge, abilities, and attitudes needed to effectively influence other teens.

The following training program is designed to prepare teen sexual health educators for this rewarding role. Teen sexual health educators need a foundation of facilitation and leadership skills, complemented by training for sexual health promotion. Sexual health can be a challenging area for both educators and participants, as sexuality is an area that is often stigmatized, or seen as taboo or private in most cultures. This means that extra attention is needed to help peer educators develop an effective approach.

The training can be adapted to suit the needs of your program and participants. For example, training can be delivered as a series of day-long weekend training days over four to six weeks, or as three-hour evening trainings sessions over eight to twelve weeks.

Training Program For Teen Sexual Health Educators

Competency Area	Key Learning Areas	Resources
Human sexuality and sexual health	Male and female reproductive systems Sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS Pregnancy- Birth control and STI/HIV prevention Sexual orientation- Healthy sexuality Condom demonstration Community resources	Community Health Nurses External training from Condomania, Gab Youth Services, local Multicultural Services, local youth workers Some activities included
Social Issues	Gender stereotypes Homophobia Inter-cultural sensitivity Media messages and literacy Adolescent development	External training from Condomania, Gab Youth Services, local Multicultural Services, local youth workers
Health Promotion	Risk and vulnerability Determinants of health Harm reduction Models of behaviour change	Activities included
Peer Education	Group facilitation Leadership skills Classroom management Role of a peer educator Role model for behaviour change	External training such as Youth Power or Kinex Youth Facilitation Training Some activities included
Workshop Preparation and Delivery	Understanding the education goals and processes for the workshops. Peer practice	Activities included

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