Measuring impact of many educational programs remains a difficult area. Nonetheless, some realistic measurements should be built into the program design to assess changes in participants' knowledge and skill. In Tanzania, facilitators working with illiterate populations were trained in how to verbally assess changes in knowledge by asking group participants to list such things as key communication points which enhance parent-child discussions or to call out the names and function of body parts following a session on anatomy. 22 Assessing role-play performance by parents participating in programs can also help determine whether communication skills are being learned. While the contraceptive practice of young people is generally not a realistic evaluation criterion for parent education programs, in Viet Nam program evaluators found an increase in contraceptive practice among parents who had participated in an education program which included sessions on contraceptive methods and their benefits.
Parent education can open the door for other types of interventions.
Parents and other adult family members who participate in education programs are often more willing to favor other efforts, such as in-school sex education. They do so because they understand what will be taught or that they are ill-equipped to educate their children about sexuality and reproductive health. In Egypt, the New Horizons program built support for sexuality and reproductive health education for young adolescent girls in conservative rural areas by educating parents about how their daughters' possession of accurate information can result in concrete benefits to the family, such as healthier babies and reduced risk of disease. Informational materials for the girls were developed and field tested with parents, resulting in a built-in sensitivity to prevailing community attitudes and beliefs as well as broad support among adults for the program. Gender norms affect adolescents.