Evaluation of School-based Educational Intervention to Improve Knowledge and Attitude of Adolescent Girls about Puberty Health

Background: Awareness of pubertal issues has a great influence on the ability of girls to cope with cognitive, social and physical changes that occur during puberty. Objective: The aim of this study was the evaluation of a school-based educational intervention to improve the knowledge and attitude of adolescent girls about puberty health. Methods: This randomized clinical trial (Registration number: IRCT 2013111715341N2) was conducted in Hamadan during the period of 2014-2015. Four hundred forty-six (446) adolescent female students were recruited randomly, using a multistage sampling method. Students were randomly assigned to three (3) groups. Group 1(educating to students) and group 2(educating to mothers) received two 90 minutes’ puberty health educational sessions by a midwife; group 3 did not receive any intervention. Girls' knowledge and attitude about puberty health were assessed using a questionnaire administered to each group before and after the intervention. SPSS 16 software was used for analyzing data. Results: The three groups were similar in terms of demographic characteristics. There was no significant difference in knowledge and attitude scores between the control group and two interventional groups before the intervention. However, after the intervention, there was a significant difference in the knowledge and attitude of the students in the two interventional groups compared with the control group (p<0.001). The knowledge score was significantly higher in the students' group that was taught by the midwife (p<0.001). The attitude score was significantly higher in the students' group to whom their mothers taught (p<0.001). Conclusion: Mothers would better improve the attitude of adolescent girls toward puberty health if they were properly informed and knew how to transfer this information to their daughters. It seems the involvement of mothers in the educating process by a specialist such as a midwife will have a much better impact on the attitude and awareness of girls about puberty health.