Source of information on sexual and reproductive health among secondary schools’ girls in the Klang Valley.

Adolescents are known to obtain information regarding sexual and reproductive health from a variety of sources and not just during formal lessons in schools. This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to determine the source of information on sexual and reproductive health among Form four secondary schools girls in the Klang Valley as well as parents’ relationship profile. A total of 520 secondary school girls were recruited for the study. In this study, the source of information on puberty and sexual topics were categorized as follows: first level of importance – mothers, second level of importance – siblings, third level of importance – fathers, fourth level of importance – friends, fifth level of importance – teachers and sixth level of importance – books/internet. A majority of respondents agreed that their mothers were the first level of importance they sought for information on puberty (74.8%) and sexual topics (53.8%). Thirty nine point three percent (39.3%) of respondents reported it was very easy to have a dialogue with their mothers while only 10.0% of the respondents said it was very easy to have a dialogue with their fathers. While this was the case, only 6.3% of the respondents reported discussing sex-related matter with their mothers

Appropriate age to deliver school-based sex education - earlier or later?

Aim: To explore the perspectives of Science teachers regarding appropriate age to deliver school-based sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education in secondary schools in the Klang-Valley, Malaysia. Method: A qualitative study using in-depth interview technique was conducted among science teachers in secondary schools in the Klang Valley. Results: A majority of participants believed that this course should be presented earlier than in Form Three because nowadays students mature earlier. These findings are also supported by the results of other studies where the target age for the introduction of SRH education by the majority of the teachers is between 10-14 years. This may be related to the fact that most adolescents have their first sexual intercourse before the age of 15 years when they are probably in lower secondary school. However, another group believed by introducing and teaching this course later, sexual curiosity and promiscuity of students could be reduced. Conclusion: This study highlighted the need to start sexual and reproductive health education at an earlier age than currently taught now, preferably in primary school. This is especially true when many students do not progress to secondary school education, and in places where fewer girls than boys progress to secondary school level. There is a need to revise the age at which sexual and reproductive health education is provided to students and the content of that education

The Effect of Group Counselling on Body Image Coping Strategy among Adolescent Girls

Background Adolescents, pay particular attention to their body image. Dissatisfaction with body image in people can lead to stress. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group counselling on body image and coping strategies among adolescent girls. Materials and Methods This clinical trial study was conducted on 60 adolescent girls in Karaj City, Iran. The samples were selected using a multi stage sampling technique. For the intervention group, four counseling sessions were held weekly and each session lasted 60 to 90 minutes. The control group received an educational body image package at the end. The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations questionnaire and Body Image Coping Strategy Inventory were completed by participants in both groups before and two weeks after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS-19.0 software.   Results The mean score of the positive rational acceptance before the intervention in intervention and control groups were 43.541±2.798 and 41.875±13.146, respectively. These values after the intervention were 62.708±2.484 and 46.972±16.545 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the mean score of body image and the positive rational acceptance two weeks after the completion of the intervention (P = 0.0001). Conclusion The overall results of this study indicated the effectiveness of intervention (Group Counseling) in improving the body image score and increasing the positive strategic skills

The evaluation of a virtual education system based on the DeLone and McLean model: A path analysis [version 2; referees: 3 approved]

Background: The Internet has dramatically influenced the introduction of virtual education. Virtual education is a term that involves online education and e-learning. This study was conducted to evaluate a virtual education system based on the DeLone and McLean model. Methods: This descriptive analytical study was conducted using the census method on all the students of the Nursing and Midwifery Department of Alborz University of Medical Sciences who had taken at least one online course in 2016-2017. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire based on the DeLone and McLean model in six domains and then analyzed in SPSS-16 and LISREL-8.8 using the path analysis. Results: The goodness of fit indices (GFI) of the model represent the desirability and good fit of the model, and the rational nature of the adjusted relationships between the variables based on a conceptual model (GFI = 0.98; RMSEA = 0.014).The results showed that system quality has the greatest impact on the net benefits of the system through both direct and indirect paths (β=0.52), service quality through the indirect path (β=0.03) and user satisfaction through the direct path (β=0.73). Conclusions: According to the results, system quality has the greatest overall impact on the net benefits of the system, both directly and indirectly by affecting user satisfaction and the intention to use. System quality should therefore be further emphasized, to use these systems more efficiently

Assessment of School-Based Sexual and Reproductive Health Education in Secondary Schools in Klang Valley, Malaysia

The general purpose of this study was to assess school-based sexual and reproductive health education among female secondary school students.Subsequently the study examined the perspective of Science teachers and their views on school-based sexual and reproductive health education, as well as sex education in the current curriculum. This research had been designed with multiple studies conducted using a mixed methods approach. In phase I of the quantitative study, 520 female students were selected for this cross-sectional study by using a two-stage stratified random sampling. In all, 10 secondary schools were randomly selected as study sites from a total of 276.Subsequently, in phase II; a generic qualitative data gathering was conducted. The participants were science teachers selected by purposeful sampling from selected government secondary schools in phase I. Data were also harvested from semi-structured interviews with science teachers, and a contextual textbook analysis. The findings, in regards to the female student’s knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, revealed that the level of total knowledge was moderate. Additionally, the findings of this study revealed that female students were only moderately aware about issues regarding puberty and condom use. The conclusion drawn from the student participants suggested that a majority of respondents fell into the moderate sexual attitude category which clearly indicates that the surveyed subjects were “uncertain” about their attitudes towards sexual matters. Besides, the findings from this study clearly demonstrated that specially trained teachers are necessary for delivering this course. The results of the current study were in line with literature which found that most of the teachers for this subject did not receive any special training. On the other hand, regarding the constraints of the current school-based sexual and reproductive health education program, the majority of participants named teaching strategy and capacity of teachers, the lack of co-operation from the school and parents, limited resources in teaching and students themselves as some of the challenges. Thus, before a school-based health program can be introduced into the classrooms, the training of specialized teachers becomes a key consideration

Designing, implementing and evaluating the education program ‘tele- continuing postpartum care’ in the family health internship of master\'s midwifery students

Background & Objective: Changing the type of care in the family health internship curriculum towards continuing care programs can lead to the development of the professional identity of learners. This study was conducted with the aim of designing, implementing and evaluating a tele-continuous care program after delivery for midwifery students. Materials & Methods: In this educational process, each student under the direction of the support team was responsible for the continuing care of his client for 6 weeks after delivery. The program was designed based on Taylor's curriculum development model and the evaluation of learners was done by qualitative interviews and completion of portfolios during the course at two levels of reaction and learning Kirkpatrick's model. Results: Data in the three main categories was categorized as  "learning", "continuous care" and "health provider" with sub-categories include new concept of postpartum period, knowing more about the profession of midwifery, improving communication skills with the client, strengthening the student's self-confidence, eagerness to learn, new experience of taking history, not being judged by others, daring to ask questions, synergy of knowledge, walking in mother's shoes, increasing intimacy, anticipating upcoming issues, availability, ability of follow-up, sense of pleasantness, sense of support,  earlier familiarization of the client with the conditions ahead, trust of the client and more motivation to provide service. Conclusion: It appears that placing midwifery students in a continuing care model will provide them the opportunity to experience a rich holistic learning

Tendency toward Weight Loss among Iranian Adolescent Girls: Study on Perceived Weight, Ideal Body Mass Index and Attitude toward Eating Disorders

Background Adolescents’ perception of their weight is a strong factor in shaping dietary habits and weight control and management. Among non-overweight and overweight adolescents, both overestimation and underestimation of weight status are associated with harmful effects. This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived weight and attitude toward eating disorders among adolescent girls living in Karaj, Iran. Materials and Methods Involving a two-stage random sampling, this cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 537 high school girls 14-18 years of age living in Karaj. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) was employed to screen for attitude toward eating disorders. Also, anthropometric measurements (weight and height), perceived and the ideal weights of the participants were assessed.  Results The average age of girls participating in the study was 16.12±1.20. According to the results, 70% of girls had normal body mass index. It was found that the ideal weight of 55% of the girls in the normal body mass index group fell under the lower than normal boundary. Moreover, the prevalence of eating disorders was estimated to be 23.6%. The attitude toward eating disorder was significantly correlated with body mass index of participants and their self-concept (

Tendency toward Weight Loss among Iranian Adolescent Girls: Study on Perceived Weight, Ideal Body Mass Index and Attitude toward Eating Disorders

Abstract Backgroun