Competency-Based Training For Adolescent Reproductive Health Care Providers via Multimedia CD-ROM

• Overview
• Course Description and Audience
• Goals
• Course Content

Overview

In 1999, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Johns Hopkins University/School of Public Health (JHU/SPH) and Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) began to develop “Putting It All Together,” a multimedia CD-ROM course to train providers in key adolescent reproductive health competencies. These competencies include adolescent-specific counseling and health promotion skills, an increased understanding of adolescent development and human sexuality, prevention of STIs, contraceptive technology, and design of adolescent-friendly services. By improving provider's skills in these areas, it is expected that reproductive health services will more adequately meet the needs of adolescents.

View the slideshow presentation on this CD-ROM.

Course Description and Audience

The training course is designed on the premise that, to build capacity among providers who work with adolescents, it is vital to challenge their own system of beliefs and values about adolescent sexuality since it is their perceptions that most often reduce the effectiveness of communication with adolescents. The intended audiences for this training course are front line reproductive health care providers, including nurses, obstetricians, physicians and health promoters who interact with adolescent clients.

Goals

This training course allows providers to take an introspective journey where they analyze their own thoughts, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about adolescent sexual and reproductive health behaviors. In doing so, the course builds objective (knowledge and skills) and subjective (self esteem and self knowledge) competencies among providers so they can create an environment that assists adolescents in improving their communication and negotiation skills, clarifying their values, attitudes and changing their risk behaviors.

Course Content

	Module 1: Three roads, one life: Defining adolescents Presents biological, psychological, and social development during adolescence, highlighting that these changes do not occur at the same time but at different rhythms, tracts, and with certain autonomy.
	Module 2: I know what you're going through: Development of sexuality Defines concepts that are generally used without precision, such as sex, sexuality, gender, sexual health, reproductive health, and sexual orientation.
	Module 3: Now you can take care of yourself: Contraception and pregnancy Identifies social, individual and psychological factors that contribute to adolescent pregnancy. Reviews the consequences of pregnancy both for the adolescent mother and father. Offers a guide to work with pregnant adolescents and their partners. Describes contraceptive methods and organizes the information as a job aid.
	Module 4: Protect yourself! STIs and AIDS Presents the main sexually transmitted infections, describes causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. .
	Module 5: Just like a drugstore: Many ways to reach adolescents Proposes adolescent-centered service models. Presents communication initiatives, school-based approaches, clinics, network of peer promoters and the use of media and information communication technologies. Offers criteria to establish adolescent-friendly services.
	Module 6: How can I help you: Interpersonal communication skills Describes interpersonal communication skills needed to provide sexual and reproductive health services to adolescents. Offers a guide and simple tools to develop and practice listening skills, interviewing techniques, use of communication materials, and increasing adolescent participation during a counseling session.