Effectiveness and Acceptability of a Sexual Health Education Program for Muslim Countries: An Intervention Study

Abstract

In Muslim societies, issues related to sexual and reproductive health are rarely discussed and considered sensitive subjects. This study was conducted to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of a sexual health education program in Turkey, a Muslim country. The study was conducted using a one-group quasi-experimental design. The sexual health education program consisted of five sessions of sexual health education, pre-test, post-test, first follow-up (30 days after) and second follow-up (60 days after). The sample of the study consisted of 207 female and 79 male first year Muslim university students. At the end of the program, 96.5% of the Muslim university students stated that they liked the education, 96.2% found the education useful, 86.0% found the online education convenient, and 96.9% would use the information they learned. Muslim university students, in general, found the feasibility of the education to be highly favorable. It was determined that the post-test score of sexual health knowledge was higher than the pre-test score (p < 0.05). The program in this study was found to be adopted by Muslim university students and it is thought to be valuable in societies with similar religious beliefs and views.