In the Northern division of Fiji, health programs focus on children, mothers and adults, while adolescents are often a missed-out group. In 1994, more young, single mothers were delivering babies at the divisional hospital than married. Although, the Ministry of Education started family life classes in schools, teachers often skipped over reproductive health as culturally both the Fijians and Indians find it taboo to discuss such topics. Also given limited resources, it was costly to take such services to the people. Thus the inception of the “Youth for Better Health” project focused on 16-25 year olds in 1995. An effort was made to obtain funding from the U.S. Peace Corps in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate and in-kind contributions from UNICEF. Regionally, the Ministry of Education provided transportation and copying facilities, while the Ministry of Health provided appropriate staff. The schools and community-based organizations were responsible for identifying a suitable topic, providing a reasonable budget for meals and supplies, and organizing the seminar locally. The Youth for Better Health project provided appropriate curricula, teaching and participant materials, and organized any goods to be brought from the main town. Culturally acceptable workshops entailed lectures focusing on anatomy and physiology, pregnancy, STDs, and substance abuse. Additionally videos and anonymous question and answer sessions made discussions “safe.” Over 1000 participants attended the program and scored between 60-80 percent on posttests.
Learning Objectives: 1. The audience will be able to identify collaborative methods of providing health educaiton to schools. 2. The audience will be able to identify barriers/limitations preventing schools from providing appropriate health information. 3. The audience will be able to recognize and identify stakeholders involved in providing health information to schools
Keywords: Adolescent Health, Community Collaboration
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.