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Usability and Feasibility of an Enhanced Sexual Health Education Program for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Schmidt, Elizabeth Koss

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are at increased risk for experiencing sexual abuse (Jones et al., 2012; Spencer et al., 2005; Sullivan & Knutson, 2000), negative pregnancy outcomes (Parish, Swaine, Son, & Luken, 2013), and may be at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (Mandell et al., 2008) indicating a significant need for an accessible sexual health education. This study 1) identified the gaps, barriers, and recommendations for sexual health education as described by individuals with I/DD, parents, health providers, and educators using a grounded theory study design and developed activities to address the identified gaps and barriers; 2) tested the usability, usefulness, and desirability of these activities for an enhanced sexual health education program; and 3) tested the feasibility of a five-week community-based enhanced sexual health education program. An enhanced sexual health education program refers to a freely available program that was modified to include updated comprehensive and inclusive sexual health information and the interactive learning activities developed and tested in Aims 1 and 2. The results of this study identified the following barriers to sexual health education: parental characteristics, general characteristics, embarrassment, lack of organizational policies and/or standards and limited professional education for providers and educators. Gaps in sexual health knowledge for individuals with I/DD include 1) pregnancy, reproduction, and family planning, 2) contraception, and 3) sexually transmitted infections. These barriers and gaps contribute to current sexual health education practices, which are provided by multiple stakeholders and occur in natural learning opportunities. Further, the recommendations from stakeholders contribute to the development of the Accessible Sexuality Education Theory (ASET). ASET suggests using a proactive and formal education provided by multiple stakeholders and that learning should be continued beyond formal education. Furthermore, it is recommended that this program utilize videos, visuals, universal design for learning, and direct, explicit instruction as the best learning modalities. Educational activities were developed or sourced from available resources based on these results. The following activities were found acceptable in terms of usability, usefulness, and desirability by individuals with I/DD (n=7) and educators (n=2): gender unicorn (a gender identity graphic) (76%), virtual reality script (75%), identity video (66%), anatomy video (89%), sexually transmitted infections (STI) infographic (85%), family planning video (63%), and dating video (75%). The contraceptives infographic (56%) and puberty visuals (46%) were refined and reevaluated, where they were deemed acceptable (97% and 94%, respectively). And finally, these educational activities were incorporated into an enhanced program, which was determined to be feasible based on recruitment rates (90%), retention rates (77.8%), attendance rates (98.2%), and data collection from trainees during the sessions (77.8% completion at pretest and 100% completion at posttest). And finally, recommendations were made to the new educational program to enhance feasibility of future studies of the program, including reordering of topics that were taught and updating the time spent on each area to allow for more time for review and reminders and interactive learning activities.
Amy Darragh (Advisor)
Brittany Hand (Committee Member)
Susan Havercamp (Committee Member)
Carolyyn Sommerich (Committee Member)
Lindy Weaver (Committee Member)
257 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Schmidt, E. K. (2019). Usability and Feasibility of an Enhanced Sexual Health Education Program for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1574716076209766

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Schmidt, Elizabeth. Usability and Feasibility of an Enhanced Sexual Health Education Program for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1574716076209766.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Schmidt, Elizabeth. "Usability and Feasibility of an Enhanced Sexual Health Education Program for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1574716076209766

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)