Contraceptive health programs for adolescents: a critical review

Many adolescents are neither educated about contraception nor consistently practice it as part of their sexual health behavior. Contraceptive education has taken many forms and has been questioned as to its effectiveness. This paper reviews some of the contraceptive education programs that have been designed for adolescents. These programs, although targeting the adolescent population, differ in educational process based on the delivery setting. School-based, community-based, and college/university-based programs are reviewed and discussed in terms of their effectiveness, potential, and limitations. Educating adolescents about contraception should incorporate the cognitive, affective, and skill-based domains of learning, with outcome expectations based on the specific delivery setting. However, not all settings have the freedom to select from a variety of teaching methodologies. Thus, educational accountability in each setting should differ in terms of outcome expectations, particularly if the program evaluation includes behavioral components.