The effect of educating mothers on the girls\' knowledge level of reproductive health

Abstract

Objective (s): mothers are usually the girls’ first teachers. Thus educating mothers can be a major contribution to the prevention of reproductive health complications in future generations. The present study investigated the effect of educating mothers on the girlschr('39') knowledge level of reproductive health. Methods: The present interventional study was conducted on 120 Iranian girls studying in secondary schools and their mothers. Sampling was performed through two-step cluster sampling method. Before the intervention, mothers’ and girlschr('39') knowledge of reproductive health was measured by using a questionnaire prepared based on the World Health Organizationchr('39')s questionnaire. The mothers of the intervention group participated in 4 sessions for 4 weeks and received the necessary information about reproductive health. After three-months period, the questionnaires were once more completed by all the girls in both intervention and control groups. Results: Mothers were the main source of information for the girls in both the intervention (61.7%) and the control group (55%). There was a significant difference between mean scores of the girlschr('39') knowledge before (11.63±4.37) and 3 months after their mother’s education (30.60±1.49), but the change was not significant in control group. Conclusion: Educating mothers could significantly increase the girlschr('39') levels of knowledge of the primary fundamentals of reproductive health.

Keywords

• girls
• mothers
• knowledge
• reproductive health