Effect of Peer Education on Reproductive Health and Safe Sexuality Knowledge

The study population consisted of Turkish midwifery students studying at Istanbul Medipol University, Faculty of Health Sciences, in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. The sample of the study was determined by stratified random sampling among Turkish students. Students who agreed to participate in the study were assigned to intervention and control groups by the lottery method. The number of students participating in the study by class was as follows:

1. st year: 25 intervention, 25 control,
2. nd year: 31 intervention, 31 control,
3. rd year: 18 intervention, 18 control,
4. th year: 26 intervention, 26 control.

Inclusion Criteria:

At least 18 years old,

Being a midwifery student,

Able to communicate verbally,

Volunteering to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

History of psychiatric illness,

Being a foreign national student.

Data Collection Tools: The study data were collected using the Participant Information Form, "Reproductive Health Scale for Turkish Adolescents," and "Peer Mentoring Evaluation Scale."

Participant Information Form: This form consisted of 15 questions developed by the researchers in line with the literature.

Reproductive Health Scale for Turkish Adolescents: This 34-item scale was in a 5-point Likert type format. The first 16 items were reverse-scored. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.88.

Peer Mentoring Evaluation Scale: Developed by Kocadere in 2015, the scale consisted of 10 items in a 7-point Likert type format. A total peer mentoring score was obtained by summing all responses. The minimum possible score was 10, and the maximum was 70. Higher total scores indicated higher satisfaction. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.937.

Data Collection:

Data were collected via Google survey. The Google survey link of the data collection tools was shared with the students, and the informed consent form was obtained face-to-face. The online questionnaire form was set to be answered only from a single account to prevent multiple responses from the same participant. Students who volunteered to participate read the study information and clicked the confirmation tab to join the study. It took approximately 15 minutes for participants to complete the survey.

The peer educators were selected as two volunteer participants from the "Reproductive Health Peer Clinic" project of the Midwifery Department at Istanbul Medipol University, and their names were recorded in the study's ethics committee form. The "Reproductive Health Peer Clinic" project was supported by the Social Contribution Commission of Istanbul Medipol University. Within the scope of the project, a room in the Midwifery Department was transformed into a clinic, and final-year midwifery students provided counseling on reproductive health and family planning to all university students. The Turkish Family Planning Association was a stakeholder in this project and organized the orientation of peer educators. Counseling was provided by midwifery students three days a week, and gynecological examinations were offered free of charge one day a week. Peer educators were chosen from final-year midwifery students because they had completed all core theoretical courses, had strong scientific knowledge, and were gaining professional experience through clinical practice three days a week. The privacy of student clients was protected, and their data were kept confidential. In the training conducted within the study, brochures on contraceptive methods and safe sexuality for young people, prepared by peer educators, were used.

In the intervention group, the "Reproductive Health Scale for Turkish Adolescents" was administered in the pre-test, and safe sexuality and youth-focused safe sexuality training was provided along with brochures. Three months later, in the post-test, both the "Reproductive Health Scale for Turkish Adolescents" and the "Peer Mentoring Evaluation Scale" were administered. In the control group, no intervention was performed, and only brochures were given along with the administration of the "Reproductive Health Scale for Turkish Adolescents."

Data Analysis:

The data obtained in the study were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. First, the normality of the variables was assessed, and appropriate statistical tests were selected accordingly. For comparisons between groups of quantitative data, the Independent Samples t-test was used; for data not conforming to normal distribution, Mann-Whitney U or Wilcoxon tests were preferred. Cohen's d effect size analysis was performed to determine the magnitude of significant differences. Additionally, the Independent Samples t-test was used to compare the means of two independent groups, the Paired Samples t-test to compare the means of the same group at two different time points, the Chi-square test to examine the relationship between two categorical variables, One-Way ANOVA to compare the means of three or more groups, and Two-Way ANOVA to examine the effect of two independent variables and their interaction. The level of significance was set at p<0.05 in all analyses.