Assessing an Educational Intervention Program on Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour Towards Pregnancy Prevention Based on Health Belief Model Amongst Adolescent Girls in Northern Ghana
Condition: Adolescent Behavior
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The study is designed to assess the impact of an educational intervention program on the
      knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards pregnancy prevention based on Health Belief Model
      amongst adolescent girls in Northern Ghana. It is a randomised clustered controlled trial to
      be conducted on Senior High School students in Northern Ghana The study hypothesises that
      knowledge, attitude and behaviour of adolescents towards pregnancy prevention will differ
      between the groups.
    

Detailed description: 
      Adolescent pregnancy is a global problem because of its health, social, economic and
      political repercussions on the globe. According to WHO about 16 million girls aged 15 to 19
      and some 1 million girls under 15years give birth every year, mostly in low and middle-income
      countries. Babies born to adolescent mothers face a substantially higher risk of dying than
      those born to women aged 20 to 24. Pregnant adolescents also develop psychological problems
      from social stigma, suffering physical and domestic violence in her attempt to meeting the
      demands of pregnancy and childbearing. Children born to adolescents are at risk of
      malnutrition, low mental and physical development, inappropriate social connection with
      parents and poor education.

      The factors associated with adolescent pregnancies include early marriages, poor social and
      economic support. Curiosity and peer pressure, lack of sexuality education, poor reproductive
      health services and poor attitude of health workers to providing contraceptive services for
      adolescents amongst others.

      Ghana developed a number of policies to improve adolescent development through the provision
      of youth focus friendly health services in the country. However, adolescent pregnancy has not
      declined as expected.

      The Health Belief Model is one of the appropriate health promotion models designed to predict
      preventive health behaviours, and it has enhanced preventive health behaviours in breast
      cancer screening and prevention of risky sexual behaviours in adolescents as well as
      prevention of iron deficiency anaemia. Schools are the best site for providing health
      education and promotion interventions because students spend most of the time in school and
      health promoters have the opportunity of reaching a large number of participants. Students of
      Senior High Schools in Ghana are adolescents and most of them are sexually active and has
      little knowledge about sex education and use of contraceptives. Therefore, providing
      comprehensive sex education to adolescents in schools will increase their knowledge; enhance
      their attitude and behavior towards pregnancy prevention.

      This study, therefore, is intended to assess the impact of an educational intervention
      program on the knowledge, attitude and behavior towards pregnancy prevention based on Health
      Belief Model amongst adolescent girls in Northern Ghana.

      The main objective is to assess the impact of an educational intervention program on
      knowledge, attitude and behavior towards pregnancy prevention based on Health Belief Model
      amongst adolescent girls in Northern Ghana.

      Study design: The study shall be an interventional research using Clustered Randomized
      Controlled Trial to assess the impact of an educational program on the knowledge, attitude
      and behavior of adolescents towards teenage pregnancy using a researcher-structured
      questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model and a validated psychometric "Teen Attitude
      Pregnancy Scale" Intervention: A comprehensive sex education program shall be delivered in
      approximately six (6) sessions comprising of an introductory lesson on susceptibility and
      severity of teenage pregnancy, personal and community values, female reproductive system,
      contraceptives and decision-making. A qualified midwife shall conduct the health education
      program. Teaching and learning materials shall include flip charts, contraceptives, short
      videos, role-play scenarios among others. A practical demonstration, group discussion,
      lectures, role-play and interactive learning methods shall be employed. Attitudinal and
      behavioural intervention strategies shall be adopted for the study based on the Taxonomy of
      Behavior Change Techniques for interventions
    

Intervention name(s): comprehensive sex education
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): A comprehensive sex education program to be delivered in approximately six (6) sessions comprising of an introductory lesson on susceptibility and severity of teenage pregnancy, personal and community values, female reproductive system, contraception and decision-making skills.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: A multi-stage sampling method shall be conducted. A random sampling of six (6) out 12 mixed Senior High Schools in Tamale Metropolis-Northern Ghana would be selected. We shall randomly allocate three (3) schools as the intervention and the other three (3) as control groups respectively. In each school, one class shall be selected at random from each grade in both intervention and control groups.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Adolescent pregnancy; Teenage pregnancy; Prevention; Ghana