147892 Sexuality and HIV/AIDS Education in Florida: Content, Context, and Controversy

Monday, November 5, 2007

Brian Dodge, PhD , Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Kristina Zachry, MPH , College of Public Health and Health Rrofessions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Michael Reece, PhD, MPH , Sexual Health Research Working Group, Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Ellen Lopez, PhD, MPH , Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH , Sexual Health Research Working Group, Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Kristin Gant, MPH , Alachua County Health Department, Suwannee River Area Health Education Center, Alachua, FL
Amanda Tanner, MPH , Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Omar Martinez , Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
William L. Jeffries IV, MA , Department of Sociology and Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Introduction: As with all states, Florida has official directives that are intended to influence what type of sexuality education takes place in public school classrooms, particularly in regards to HIV/AIDS. Little is known about contextual factors that facilitate or challenge the ability of teachers to implement effective sexuality education initiatives. Levels of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies continue to rise in Florida; indeed, the state ranks second in annual incident HIV infections. The need exists to examine Floridian schools' educational responses to these issues.

Methodology: Community-based participatory research, scientific review, and a statewide mail-based survey were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 479 public school personnel throughout Florida. The primary study aim involved assessing whether or not sexuality education was offered in schools and, if so, determining to what extent the content was comprehensive (when compared to national guidelines).

Results: The vast majority of teachers (87%) acknowledged that sexuality education, in some form, took place in their schools. However, it was most often afforded little time, occurred late in the students' academic career, had little to no uniformity in terms of what was taught and who was teaching it, had no standards in terms of training or quality assurance, was not accessible to all students, and may not adequately address their realistic needs of students (i.e., abstinence-only). Based on these findings, policy recommendations are provided for pragmatically working within the challenging context surrounding sexuality and HIV/AIDS education in Florida and other states.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. identify the major sexual health issues facing youth living in the state of Florida, including high rates of HIV/AIDS, STI, and unintended pregnancies; indeed, the state ranks second in the nation in terms of incident HIV infections, 2. gain an understanding of the complex social context surrounding sexuality education in Florida, including current policies and the role of federally-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage campaigns, 3. learn how community-based participatory research (CBPR), scientific review, and a statewide survey were utilized to collect data from nearly 500 public school teachers charged with the responsibility of teaching sexuality education in the state's classrooms, 4. note how, according to widely established guidelines for comprehensive sexuality education, the state of Florida is currently failing to adequately prepare youth to deal with the significant public health challenges they may face, 5. assist in developing strategies and guidelines for school health officials and legislators to advocate for comprehensive sexuality education in Florida and elsewhere.

Keywords: Sexuality, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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