Reinforcing Sexual and Reproductive Health Education Prior to Graduation of Health School in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine how students assessed the vertical and horizontal integration of content related to Sexual Health/Reproductive Health (SH/RH) into the curriculum. The sampling of the study comprised midwifery (170) and nursing (155) students (N = 325). Data was collected with a Curriculum Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) which was developed by the researchers. Percentages, mean calculations and the Independent Samples t Test were used in the analysis of the data. Significance was defined as p < 0.05. It was found that 69.2% of the students found the changes made in their study programs appropriate. The CIQ, which queried the thoughts of nursing and midwifery students about the integration of SH/RH topics into the study program, exhibited a significant difference in the sub-dimensions, where it was seen that the scores of the students in the midwifery section were higher. The results of the data lead to the conclusion that the integration of topics of SH/RH into the curriculum were positively acknowledged by the students and that the changes made were more effective and beneficial for midwifery students as opposed to nursing students.