Teaching Each Other: A Pilot for a Peer Health Education Intervention in a Juvenile Detention Facility

Peer health education programs for adolescents in schools and for adults in prison are effective at increasing health knowledge and improving leadership skills. However, there have been no peer health education programs in juvenile detention facilities despite proven benefit in similar environments. We created a pilot study to evaluate the impact of a novel, multidisciplinary, youth-led and evidence-informed peer health curriculum in a juvenile detention facility.

This was a 4-week cross-sectional pilot study that evaluated the self-reported benefits of a novel peer health education curriculum within a youth detention facility. The curriculum was co-created with peer health educators, a subset of detained youth leaders, and then taught by peer-educators to their housing mates. The peer health curriculum was evidence-informed, developmentally appropriate, activity-based and prioritized high-needs adolescent health topics. All 28 participants were self-identified males between the ages of 15-19 in a juvenile detention facility in the United States in the fall of 2022.

All participants showed a significant increase in self-reported health knowledge with most educational topics (p < 0.001 for three of the four learning modules) after the peer health curriculum intervention compared to baseline. Additionally, there was improvement in the peer health educators' self-rated leadership abilities.

Results of this novel pilot peer health intervention supports the efficacy of a peer health education intervention for detained youth. Such interventions have the potential for improving health knowledge, health outcomes, and lessening health disparities among a vulnerable youth population. This intervention is a template for peer health education programs in other juvenile detention centers.