An intervention study for viral hepatitis. Peer-led health education among high school students

OBJECTIVE: To check the effectiveness of peer-led education in improving the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of high school students regarding viral hepatitis (VH).

METHODS: This study was conducted at 29 high schools in Erzurum city center, Turkey between February and May 2007. The study design is a prospective before-and-after intervention trial. In this study, 2930 students from 29 different schools were included. A total of 559 volunteer students were trained as peer educators. These students applied a standard education to their peers.

RESULTS: The total knowledge scores of peer educators before was 7.99 ± 2.73, and 13.91 ± 3.85 after peer-training (p=0.000). The total knowledge scores of other students increased from 7.27 ± 2.85 to 11.20 ± 4.21 (p=0.000). There was an increase in all correct answers to the knowledge questions after the intervention (p=0.000). Response to the questions exploring attitude of students towards people infected with hepatitis virus significantly changed after the training (p=0.002). There was also a significant positive change in the behaviors after the intervention (p=0.000).

CONCLUSION: The significant increase in the knowledge of students trained by their peers proves this method is effective to be utilized in the prevention strategies regarding VH infections. Further studies with long term follow-up would be useful to demonstrate the long term value of peer education.