Improving awareness of preconception health among adolescents: experience of a school-based intervention in Lebanon

Type Journal Article - BMC public health
Title Improving awareness of preconception health among adolescents: experience of a school-based intervention in Lebanon
Author(s)
Volume 14
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
URL http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-14-774
Abstract
Background
Maternal behavior before and after conception affects maternal and child health. Limited awareness of adolescents in preconception health may be addressed through school education. The aim of this intervention is to assess preconception health awareness among adolescents in Lebanese high schools and to test the effectiveness of a one-time educational session in improving preconception knowledge.

Methods
The intervention consisted of a 30-minute educational session about good practices in preconception health, developed by the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network’s (NCPNN) research team. A convenience sample of high school Lebanese students in grades 10 to 12, aged 14 to 26 years old, from 70 private and public schools in all six Lebanese provinces, participated in the intervention in 2011 and 2012. A multiple-choice questionnaire administered prior to and 2 months after the session was used to assess knowledge improvement among the students.

Results
A total of 7,290 students were enrolled. After the session, mean scores of correct answers increased from 4.36 to 6.42 out of 10, representing a 47.2% improvement (p?
Conclusions
Awareness campaigns in schools increased the preconception health knowledge among high school students. We recommend expanding the scope of this intervention into universities in Lebanon.

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