The Effectiveness of the Sexual Health Psychoeducation Program for Physically Disabled Adolescents

Overview

Objective: This research was planned to evaluate the effectiveness of the online psychoeducation program including sexual health education in physically disabled adolescents. Materials and Methods: In this study, a randomized experimental design with pretest-posttest, follow-up measurement, intervention and control groups was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the sexual health online psychoeducation program in adolescents with physical disabilities. The universe of the study consists of adolescent members aged 12-15 in the Turkish Spinal Cord Paralysis Association.(N :600). Nearly 90 people with physical disabilities and their families, who were included in the inclusion criteria of the study, were reached through the institution. 62 people were included in the study as a result of the foresights made due to the intensity of their online classes due to the Covid- 19 pandemic, and their inability to volunteer for the subject of the research (they are ashamed and do not want to discuss it as a topic to be discussed). . Participants were divided into 31 participants as intervention group and 31 participants as control group by randomization method. The intervention group was divided into 3 groups of 10 and a six-week psychoeducation program lasting 60 minutes once a week was applied. At the end of the training, the intervention and control groups were given a post-test and a follow-up test at the end of the 3rd month.

In addition to the nature of the adolescence period, which causes both physical and sexual differences and includes various difficulties, this period can be more complex for disabled adolescents. In addition to their physical problems, these adolescents try to make sense of their changing bodies and sexual identities, and according to studies, disabled adolescents may experience more psychosocial and psychosexual problems than adolescents without disabilities. Adolescents are expected to form sexual attitudes, values and engage in healthy sexual behaviors, as well as adapting to the functions of their changing and sexually maturing body. . Although sexual health education should have started within the family, families think that their adolescent children are not yet grown up and do not have a sexual life. In addition, it has been observed that the priority of families for their children is physical discomfort, and such developmental problems can be put in the background. This situation causes physically disabled adolescents to spend this process alone and cannot access sufficient information. Psychoeducation applied in this study; meeting the sexual health education needs of the physically disabled; It is an online psychoeducation program designed to develop a positive attitude towards sexual health, increase adaptation to physical and emotional changes that may occur during adolescence, as well as the need for information. It is thought that the study can serve as a model for sexual health programs in adolescents with physical disabilities. This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the online psychoeducation program, which includes sexual health education, on sexual knowledge and attitudes in physically disabled adolescents. The hypotheses of this study are: H1. There is a significant difference between the post-test and follow-up total scores of the intervention group physically disabled adolescents compared to the pre-test total scores. It is expected that the control group scores will not differ. H2. There is a significant difference between the post-test and follow-up test scores of the physically disabled adolescents in the intervention group and the post-test and follow-up test scores of the physically disabled adolescents in the control group in favor of the intervention group.