Intervention procedure
SECONDARY
Before the beginning of the intervention, letters of invitation were given to selected female adolescents aged 18–19 years and sent to parents/guardians of adolescents aged 15–17 attending six secondary schools. Peer educators disseminated information on modern contraception to their peers via exciting structures, such as school clubs [A booklet, flipchart, and poster aided the peer education intervention. The intervention was delivered once weekly for one hour and lasted at least six months. The content focused on a general introduction to female and male sex organs, development of sexual negotiation skills, and knowledge about pregnancy, contraception, and the consequences of unwanted pregnancy. Teachers were not present in the classroom during the actual intervention activities. The teacher’s primary role was to monitor the overall activity of the peer education and verify that the intervention was delivered according to the protocol.Peer educators took on a less formal part and approach and relied on participatory classroom teaching techniques to facilitate discussions, which involved poems, question-and-answer competitions, drama, and role play. An attendance sheet for each session was collected to determine who attended. Students must attend at least 80% of the sessions as a compliance criterion. The intervention’s organisation, content, and delivery were standardised as much as possible across the experimental schools. The control group received a similar SRH intervention after the study ended.