Background: This process study is a companion to a randomized evaluation of a school-based, peer-led comprehensive sexual health education program, Teen Prevention Education Program (Teen PEP), in which 11th- and 12th-grade students are trained by school health educators to conduct informative workshops with ninth-grade peers in schools in North Carolina. The process study was designed to understand youth participants' perspectives on the program in order to gain insight into program effectiveness.
Methods: This is a mixed-methods study in 7 schools, with online surveys (N = 88) and 8 focus groups with peer educators (N = 116), end-of-program surveys (N = 1122), 8 focus groups with ninth-grade workshop participants (N = 89), and observations of the Teen PEP class and workshops during the semester of implementation in each school, 2012-2014.
Purpose: This article describes preliminary findings from an implementation study of a school-based peer education program on sexual health for high-school youth. The responses of youth participants are described.
Methods: Qualitative data were collected across one semester in two successive waves of participants (N = 4 schools), including observations of program activities, in-depth interviews of stakeholders, focus groups with youth participants (N = 62 peer educators and 60 ninth graders), and brief surveys of youth participants (N = 678).