A process evaluation of condom availability in the Seattle, Washington public schools

Abstract

In 1993, Seattle began making condoms available in all of its 15 high schools. As part of an evaluation of this program, 16 focus groups with students from 13 high schools were conducted to explore students' perceptions of the school environment, program effectiveness, and suggestions for program improvement. The study also included data from a student survey conducted in 10 high schools. The focus group results revealed that students support school condom availability but have concerns about privacy when obtaining condoms. Students prefer obtaining condoms from baskets in private areas of school-based clinics to obtaining them from vending machines. Students do not believe that having condoms available has affected sexual activity or condom use among students. Recommendations for improving school condom availability include access to free condoms in private locations.

PIP: In 1993, the Seattle, Washington Public School District made condoms available in its 10 mainstream and 5 alternative high schools, offered supportive classroom instruction and peer education activities, and provided for an outside evaluation of this policy. This paper presents the results of the process evaluation of students' perceptions of the program. Data were gathered from 16 focus groups involving 130 students conducted in May and October of 1995 and from a spring 1995 survey of 7830 students at the 10 mainstream schools. It was found that 48% of the sexually active students used condoms from the schools. The other sexually active students either did not use condoms or bought them from stores. Those who used school condoms preferred the free ones available in the health centers to the shrink-wrapped ones from the vending machines. Males and females were equally likely to obtain school condoms, and sophomores and juniors used the program more than freshmen and seniors. Condoms were used to protect from pregnancy and from disease, but half of the sexually active students failed to use a condom during their most recent sexual encounter. Students supported school condom availability, but parents were not as favorable. Most students believed that condom availability did not encourage sexual activity but that sexual activity was the norm in their school. School condom availability was considered to have a positive effect on condom use and to have made condoms more commonplace. Recommendations to improve school condom availability include making the condoms available in private location, improving the packaging of vending machine condoms, increasing awareness of condom availability, and improving sexuality education.