title: Effectiveness of a brief curriculum to promote condom and health care use among out-of-school young adult males.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Out-of-school black males aged 15-24 have higher levels of sexual risk-taking than in-school black males of the same age. However, few sexual risk reduction curricula are focused on out-of-school male youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sexual and reproductive health intervention conducted at a Baltimore youth employment and training program in 2008-2010 was evaluated in a study involving 197 youth aged 16-24 from a predominantly black population. Ninety-eight participants received three one-hour curriculum sessions on consecutive days; 99 served as controls. At baseline and three months later, participants completed a survey assessing demographic characteristics and various knowledge, attitude and behavior measures. Regression analysis with random effects was used to assess differences between intervention participants and controls in changes in outcomes over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In analyses adjusting for baseline characteristics, intervention participants showed greater improvements in outcomes between baseline and follow-up than did controls. Specifically, a male who received the intervention was more likely than a control male to report increases in knowledge of STDs and health care use (odds ratio, 1.6 for each), frequency of condom use (1.8), use of lubricant with condoms (23.6), communication with a provider about STDs (12.3) and STD testing (16.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest the potential benefits of integrating safer-sex and health care information into a sexual and reproductive health curriculum for out-of-school male youth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. amarcell@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Arik V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Marcell
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Clay
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Freya L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Sonenstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D015142:Baltimore; D044383:Black People; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012044:Regression Analysis; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012736:Sex Education / Q000379:methods*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American