Impact evaluation of a school-based sexuality and HIV prevention education activity in South Africa : baseline survey report

With support from the United States Agency for International Development, and in partnership with the South Africa Department of Basic Education, MEASURE Evaluation is conducting an impact evaluation of the implementation of scripted lesson plans (SLP) and supporting activities developed to increase the rigor and uniformity of a life skills program for in-school youth. The evaluation aims to describe the effect of the SLP on herpes simplex virus 2 incidence or change in prevalence of pregnancy among a cohort of Grade-8 female learners as they progress to Grade 10. Secondarily, this evaluation aims to describe the program?s effects on knowledge, attitudes, school retention, self-reported risk behavior, HIV testing, and completed referrals for health services among the cohort of Grade-8 female learners and cross-sections of male learners in Grades 8, 9, and 10.

The evaluation employed a two-arm, stratified, cluster-randomized design. Grade-8 females, Grade-8 males, and Grade-10 females (n=10,133) enrolled in 106 schools were surveyed. Baseline data were collected in August?October 2016. Sampling weights were applied to compute descriptive statistics and frequency distributions of all variables.

Few differences were observed between the intervention and control groups. Most young people valued and appreciated what they were learning in their Life Orientation curriculum, but gaps emerged in their knowledge of HIV and AIDS and their self-efficacy for healthy behaviors. Of those surveyed, 68 percent to 90 percent had never had sex at the time of the survey. Among those who were sexually active, 26 percent to 46 percent did not use condoms consistently.