The Effectiveness of the Sexual Health Psychoeducation Program for Physically Disabled Adolescents
Condition: Sexual Health; Adolescent; Physically Disabled; Psychological; Education
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Objective: This research was planned to evaluate the effectiveness of the online
      psychoeducation program including sexual health education in physically disabled adolescents.

      Materials and Methods: In this study, a randomized experimental design with pretest-posttest,
      follow-up measurement, intervention and control groups was used to evaluate the effectiveness
      of the sexual health online psychoeducation program in adolescents with physical
      disabilities. The universe of the study consists of adolescent members aged 12-15 in the
      Turkish Spinal Cord Paralysis Association.(N :600). Nearly 90 people with physical
      disabilities and their families, who were included in the inclusion criteria of the study,
      were reached through the institution. 62 people were included in the study as a result of the
      foresights made due to the intensity of their online classes due to the Covid- 19 pandemic,
      and their inability to volunteer for the subject of the research (they are ashamed and do not
      want to discuss it as a topic to be discussed). . Participants were divided into 31
      participants as intervention group and 31 participants as control group by randomization
      method. The intervention group was divided into 3 groups of 10 and a six-week psychoeducation
      program lasting 60 minutes once a week was applied. At the end of the training, the
      intervention and control groups were given a post-test and a follow-up test at the end of the
      3rd month.
    

Detailed description: 
      In addition to the nature of the adolescence period, which causes both physical and sexual
      differences and includes various difficulties, this period can be more complex for disabled
      adolescents. In addition to their physical problems, these adolescents try to make sense of
      their changing bodies and sexual identities, and according to studies, disabled adolescents
      may experience more psychosocial and psychosexual problems than adolescents without
      disabilities. Adolescents are expected to form sexual attitudes, values and engage in healthy
      sexual behaviors, as well as adapting to the functions of their changing and sexually
      maturing body. . Although sexual health education should have started within the family,
      families think that their adolescent children are not yet grown up and do not have a sexual
      life. In addition, it has been observed that the priority of families for their children is
      physical discomfort, and such developmental problems can be put in the background. This
      situation causes physically disabled adolescents to spend this process alone and cannot
      access sufficient information.

      Psychoeducation applied in this study; meeting the sexual health education needs of the
      physically disabled; It is an online psychoeducation program designed to develop a positive
      attitude towards sexual health, increase adaptation to physical and emotional changes that
      may occur during adolescence, as well as the need for information. It is thought that the
      study can serve as a model for sexual health programs in adolescents with physical
      disabilities. This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the online
      psychoeducation program, which includes sexual health education, on sexual knowledge and
      attitudes in physically disabled adolescents.

      The hypotheses of this study are:

      H1. There is a significant difference between the post-test and follow-up total scores of the
      intervention group physically disabled adolescents compared to the pre-test total scores. It
      is expected that the control group scores will not differ.

      H2. There is a significant difference between the post-test and follow-up test scores of the
      physically disabled adolescents in the intervention group and the post-test and follow-up
      test scores of the physically disabled adolescents in the control group in favor of the
      intervention group.
    

Intervention name(s): Sexual Health Psychoeducation Program
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): 62 adolescents were included in the study. Adolescents were assigned to intervention and control groups by randomization using simple numbers table. The intervention group was divided into 3 groups of 10 and included in a six-week psychoeducation program that lasted for one hour once a week, and 55 adolescents completed the program. The data on the sociodemographic characteristics of the adolescents constituting the sample were collected with the "Participant Information Form". Data on the effectiveness of the psychoeducation program on sexual health knowledge and attitudes were collected with the "Sexual Health Knowledge and Attitude Inventory" before the psychoeducation, at the end of the training and at the 3rd month of follow-up.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Adolescent; Sexual health; Psychoeducation; Physically disabled; Sexuality