Snakes, Ladders, and Information about Sexually Transmitted Infections: Evaluation of a Peer Educator Training on the Thailand-Burma Border

The longstanding conflict and civil strife in Burma has had significant consequences on the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of ethnic minority groups, including adolescents. The Adolescent Reproductive Health Zone in Chiang Mai, Thailand promotes adolescent SRH rights and access to services by having peer educators travel to their hometowns in Burma and lead intensive youth-focused trainings on a variety of topics and issues. In order to evaluate the impact of an intensive three-day workshop dedicated to improving knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among peer educators through didactic, experiential, and skill-building exercises, we administered a pre-, post-, and longitudinal assessment. All 13 participants completed both the pre-test and post-test; 11 of 13 participants (85%) completed the longitudinal evaluation administered three months after the training. Our results indicate that both individual and aggregate STI knowledge increased from baseline and that this knowledge was retained. Moreover, the training increased participants’ confidence in their outreach abilities, informed changes in the curricular modules, and led to the implementation of new teaching and learning techniques, especially the incorporation of games and activities. Our findings showcase a successful initiative and suggest similar adolescent peer health educator programs could be undertaken in this protracted crisis and conflict setting.