Efficacy of sex education courses in medical school

After nearly two decades of genesis, human sexuality has become a regular part of the curricula for most medical schools. Evaluation of sex education is less common and often hampered by the absence of appropriate control groups and misinterpretation of statistical analysis. To evaluate a new sex education course at Louisiana State University Medical Center, we compared pre- and postcourse sex knowledge and attitude SKAT scores of 136 sophomore medical students with those of 43 seniors who received no formal sex education. Consistent with prior studies, sophomore pre-post course score changes indicated statistically significant increases in sex knowledge, recognition of sexual myths, and more liberal attitudes toward masturbation, abortion and heterosexuality. The magnitude of postcourse changes, however, was small. Postcourse sophomores and seniors displayed almost no differences in sex knowledge or attitudes. Criteria for sex education evaluation, and whether the formal course in human sexuality actually and effectively enables a student ultimately to better fulfill his/her function as a physician are discussed.