SHare Program
SHARE:
Student Health Access and Reproductive Education
Population of interest: Currently there are 700 children enrolled in St. Paul's in a given year. St. Paul's currently runs from Preschool to 7th grade. 8th grade will be added in August 2009, and one grade will be added each year after that, until 12th grade is reached. A total of about 900 children will be enrolled once the secondary school has been added.
Program causal hypothesis: By providing de-worming meds when necessary, Vitamin A treatment, teaching and practicing hand-washing techniques and dental hygiene, raising the percentage of children who are up to date on their vaccinations through coordination with the community health agents, increasing use of iodized salt and green vegetables in school lunch (and the construction of a covered cooking area to ensure that lunch is always provided), creating health cards for the students though annual exams (including vision exams, which will result in the met need of those who qualify for glasses) the SHARE program hopes to not only increase the health of the children who are enrolled in St. Paul's school, but also hopes that this will have a positive impact on the level of education attained per child. The adolescents enrolled in St. Paul's will also receive a comprehensive sexual health education in which family planning methods and HIV/AIDS prevention will play a major role. The increased knowledge they will attain will hopefully lead to lower levels of adolescent pregnancy, lower HIV/AIDS rates and more awareness and use of condoms and resources available to help them (community health agents and community health center).
Program objectives:
1) To establish a network of 20 women volunteers who are providing effective health education and services in the project area within one month of start up.
2) To consistently deliver a set of health services to all children enrolled in St. Paul's School, comprising of:
a. To decrease the proportion of children with worms from 40% to 5%.
b. To increase the proportion of children who receive Vitamin A supplements from 3% to 95%.
c. To increase the proportion of children with health records from 25% to 99%.
d. To decrease the number of days in which lunch is not provided from 40/yr to 2/yr.
e. To increase the proportion of children who consume iodized salt and leafy vegetables 5/x per week from 3% to 95%.
f. To increase the met need for glasses provided to the school children from 1% to 75%.
3) To increase the proportion of children who wash their hands before lunch from 0% to 100%.
4) To increase the proportion of children who have completed vaccinations from 50% to 100%.
5) To increase the proportion of children who have comprehensive knowledge of nutrition of children from X% to Y%.
6) To decrease days missed of school due to illness from an average of 10/yr to 2/yr.
7) To impact home-based behaviors of all children enrolled in St. Paul's School, specifically:
a. To increase the proportion of children who brushed their teeth the night before from 2% to 50%.
b. To increase the proportion of children who washed their hands after school from 2% to 50%.
8) To increase sexual knowledge and the safety of adolescent sexual behavior, specifically:
a. To increase the proportion of adolescents who feel very confident or confident in negotiating sexual behavior with their partner from X to Y%.
b. To increase adolescent comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS (according to UNICEF definition) from 40% (Male) and 32% (Female) to 80% (Male) to 64% (Female).
c. To increase condom use at last sex from 43% (Male) and 29% (Female) to 75% (Male) and 61% (Female).
d. To decrease the proportion of adolescen's who report more than one sexual partner in the last month from X% to Y%.
e. To increase the proportion of adolescents ever having visited with a Community Health Agent from 10% to 30%.
Program duration and period: 3 year period beginning with start of school year in August 2009.