Effects of peer education on the peer educators in a school-based HIV prevention program: where should peer education research go from here?
Ebreo, A.; Feist-Price, S.; Siewe, Y.; Zimmerman, R.S.
Health Education and Behavior the Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education 29(4): 411-423
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 1090-1981 PMID: 12137235 DOI: 10.1177/109019810202900402Document Number: 235954
Although many HIV/AIDS prevention programs for adolescents have used peer educators to deliver risk reduction information, few researchers have evaluated the effects of participation in educational activities on the peer educators themselves. The present study compares several outcomes experienced by peer educators involved in a school-based HIV prevention program with those of their classmates to determine areas in which involvement in the curriculum had an effect on peer educators. Analyses revealed few differences between peer educators that could be attributed to the implementation of the intervention. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention programs targeting adolescent populations, and suggestions are made concerning the importance of future research on the selection, training, and integration of peer educators into school-based programs.