Abstract
Unplanned pregnancies are associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth, admissions into neonatal intensive care unit and significant cost of care. A strategy to reduce unplanned pregnancy is to provide more accurate information on reproductive physiology and conception risk to increase young people’s understanding of reproductive changes and improve pregnancy planning. This study examined the effect of a summer Health Education And Leadership Training for a Hopeful future (HEALTH) camp on the reproductive anatomy and sexual health knowledge of camp participants
Methods: This is a simple descriptive pre- and post-assessment study. The one-week health promotion day camps for the summer of 2024 were for girls (9-15 years) and boys (12-17 years) from majorly low socioeconomic and diverse racial backgrounds. The camps focused on promoting a general culture of health, leadership, and educating girls and boys about their reproductive system and sexual health. Data was analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses to determine changes in knowledge levels following camp participation.
Results: There were 125 boys and girls who completed the pre- and post-camp surveys. The majority (84.8%) were girls, and among the girls, 54.72% were older girls aged 12-15 years. More than a third (38.4%) were White, 20% were Black/African American, 19.2% Hispanic, and 12.8% were Asian. The camp led to an increase in girls expected scores across all the items examined, with several questions (especially those on how long egg lives, when ovulation occurs, risk of sexually transmitted infections and infertility with large gains (p<0.001). In general, expected score increases were bigger post-camp for questions that girls did more poorly on in the pre-test, so that the majority of questions were answered correctly 80-90+% of the time after camp. Overall, boys’ expected chances of correct answers did mostly improve after camp, but more for some questions (such as parts of male reproductive system, functions of these structures, and how this affects reproductive health) than others.
Conclusions: A HEALTH summer camp that educates young people about their reproductive anatomy and sexual health contributes to creating a mindset and expectations that value promoting reproductive health.
Notes
References:
Finer, L. B. & Zolna, M. R. Declines in Unintended Pregnancy in the United States, 2008–2011. N. Engl. J. Med. 374, 843–852 (2016).
Grady, C. D., Dehlendorf, C., Cohen, E. D., Schwarz, E. B. & Borrero, S. Racial and ethnic differences in contraceptive use among women who desire no future children, 2006?2010 National Survey of Family Growth. Contraception 92, 62–70 (2015).
Ayoola, A. B. (2015). Late Recognition of Unintended Pregnancies. Public Health Nursing (Boston, Mass.), 32(5), 462–470. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12182
Kost, K. (2015). Unintended Pregnancy Rates at the State Level: Estimates for 2010 and Trends Since 2002. Retrieved January 5, 2017, from New York: Guttmacher Institute website: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/unintended-pregnancy-united-states
Sigma Membership
Kappa Epsilon at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Public and Community Health, Primary Care, Reproductive Knowledge in Youth
Recommended Citation
Ayoola, Adejoke Bolanle; Afolabi, Esther K.; Devries, Zach B.; De Ruiter, Stacy L.; Idowu, Esther; and Blas, Vanesa B., "Promoting Reproductive Knowledge Among Youth Through a Summer Health Camp" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 269.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/269
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Promoting Reproductive Knowledge Among Youth Through a Summer Health Camp
Seattle, Washington, USA
Unplanned pregnancies are associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth, admissions into neonatal intensive care unit and significant cost of care. A strategy to reduce unplanned pregnancy is to provide more accurate information on reproductive physiology and conception risk to increase young people’s understanding of reproductive changes and improve pregnancy planning. This study examined the effect of a summer Health Education And Leadership Training for a Hopeful future (HEALTH) camp on the reproductive anatomy and sexual health knowledge of camp participants
Methods: This is a simple descriptive pre- and post-assessment study. The one-week health promotion day camps for the summer of 2024 were for girls (9-15 years) and boys (12-17 years) from majorly low socioeconomic and diverse racial backgrounds. The camps focused on promoting a general culture of health, leadership, and educating girls and boys about their reproductive system and sexual health. Data was analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses to determine changes in knowledge levels following camp participation.
Results: There were 125 boys and girls who completed the pre- and post-camp surveys. The majority (84.8%) were girls, and among the girls, 54.72% were older girls aged 12-15 years. More than a third (38.4%) were White, 20% were Black/African American, 19.2% Hispanic, and 12.8% were Asian. The camp led to an increase in girls expected scores across all the items examined, with several questions (especially those on how long egg lives, when ovulation occurs, risk of sexually transmitted infections and infertility with large gains (p<0.001). In general, expected score increases were bigger post-camp for questions that girls did more poorly on in the pre-test, so that the majority of questions were answered correctly 80-90+% of the time after camp. Overall, boys’ expected chances of correct answers did mostly improve after camp, but more for some questions (such as parts of male reproductive system, functions of these structures, and how this affects reproductive health) than others.
Conclusions: A HEALTH summer camp that educates young people about their reproductive anatomy and sexual health contributes to creating a mindset and expectations that value promoting reproductive health.
Description
This session will provide information on the effectiveness of a one weekday summer camp on reproductive health in increasing the knowledge of young girls and boys aged 9 to 17 years on reproductive anatomy and sexual health.