Brazilian youth use the Internet to learn about sexual and reproductive health

“Jovens na Rede: Vozes da geração digital” is a school-based Internet study conducted in 2003 and 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As worldwide Internet access increases, young people are taking advantage of the Web’s immense information stores to explore many different topics. Youth’s eagerness for sexual- and reproductive-health knowledge and the expanding use of the Internet are the basis for a unique series of online studies called TeenWeb.

“Jovens na rede: Vozes da geração digital” is a school-based Internet study conducted in 2003 and 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. First conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, both TeenWeb projects offered youths access to the Internet in exchange for information about their reproductive-health knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.

The surveys included questions on sex education, abortion, condom use, HIV/AIDS, sexual experience, partner violence, and emergency contraception. Of the more than 1,400 participating students in Rio de Janeiro, one group was given Internet access and surveyed every six to eight weeks on reproductive-health topics. At the end of the surveys, those students were first directed to educational Web sites, but were then given free access to the Internet for 30 minutes. The second group — the control group — was given paper surveys at the beginning and end of the project.

Ninety-six percent of students surveyed stated that they wanted comprehensive sex education at school, but only 28% reported ever having a class and only 7% reported access to condoms at school. Regarding abortion, 80% of the youth were in favor of abortion in some circumstances, but only 26% of students could identify Brazil’s abortion law (the current law allows abortions to save a woman’s life and in cases of rape). Almost half of the students knew a peer who had obtained an abortion, but 58% were not knowledgeable about abortion methods.

After the surveys, the Web students were directed to the reproductive-health Web sites. The students’ Web usage indicated they probably spent little time on reproductive-health Web sites and instead surfed to their favorite sites. Even though evaluation indicated only modest improvement in reproductive-health knowledge by the end of the study, 59% of the students self-reported improved understanding of reproductive-health issues.

Although Brazil’s cultural openness toward sexual information may assure that students are initially more knowledgeable about some reproductive-health issues than their counterparts in other countries, they have many knowledge gaps to fill. The study indicated that some students need more access to emergency contraception and age-appropriate sexuality education, including factual information on abortion.  As Brazil considers liberalizing its abortion law, policymakers can use these data as a starting point to assess the needs of Brazil’s digital generation and initiate viable solutions to its reproductive-health problems.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258