Links to sites with background information and tools for professionals
The Expert Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Education selected a variety of relevant sites for professionals. A description of those sites you will find here.
Curricula Organizer for Reproductive Health Education (CORE)
Family Health International
International Planned Parenthood Federation
ETR Associates
Swedish Association for Sexuality Education
Väestöliitto, the Family Federation of Finland
Rutgers Nisso Group
PATH: Program for Appropriate Technology in HealthThe Sexual Health Network
The Sexual Health Network
The Emergency Contraception Website
The Guttmacher Institute
The Interagency Youth Working Group (IYWG)
Good Lovers: view on sex education in Flanders, by Sensoa (Belgium)
Curricula Organizer for Reproductive Health Education (CORE)
http://core.arhp.org/ The Curricula Organizer for Reproductive Health Education (CORE) is an open access tool for building scientific presentations on the full spectrum of reproductive health topics from a collection of peer-reviewed, evidence-based materials.
Use CORE to:
- Access up-to-date materials on reproductive health topics
- Build your own curricula and other educational presentations
- Download activities, case studies, and handouts for learners
- Enhance your knowledge about current issues in reproductive health care
CORE is a collaborative effort of many organizations working to improve the quality and quantity of reproductive health information included in health professions education. CORE is managed by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP). ARHP has been educating health care providers, informing consumers, and shaping public policy since 1963.
Family Health International
http://www.fhi.org/en/Youth/YouthNet/rhtrainmat/index.htm of Family Health International publishes training materials that assist program planners and those working in clinical settings to meet and understand the specific needs of youth. Most of them can be downloaded, for instance a training manual for peer educators. This site is professionally designed and administered with clear ownership. The information states who it is designed for and allows speakers of different languages to access the information. Contents is referenced and draws from a wide range of projects and reports. The site allows access to the parent site www.fhi.org which offers further information on relevant topics (sometimes a bit out of date, however). The site is easy to navigate and should appeal to professionals working in health promotion, educational and clinical settings, underpinning their work with international experience and expertise. It offers access in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic (I can't comment on the content in the latter 2 languages as I can't read either of them, but it seems to have the relevant documents in those languages).
International Planned Parenthood Federation
http://www.ippf.org A lot of background information for professionals as well as for youth is available on this site of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Very useful are their "Publications" for service delivery professionals. Among Youth Publications you will find Tools and Guides which are designed to be an aid to working with Young People with regard to sexual and reproductive health and rights. The page: http://www.ippf.org/site.html? gives information on sexuality education and how to set up a programme. Scroll down on this page and you will find the pdf file.
ETR Associates
The website of ETR Associates http://pub.etr.org in the U.S. offers a large amount of leaflets, books, videos and other forms of material for health education, including sexuality education, for fee. Materials are published English and Spanish. A lot of educational material is evidence based, and this is one of the important advantages of this website. Start with "Search by" and "Browse" options. E.g. if you want books on birth control look at: http://pub.etr.org/Search
Swedish Association for Sexuality Education
An informative Swedish site is http://www.rfsu.org, of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education where among their "Publications" a book (Sexatlas) on sexual education can be found. This site can be browsed in different languages: Swedish, English, Spanish, French, Russian, Kiswahili and Hindi language.
Väestöliitto, the Family Federation of Finland
http://www.vaestoliitto.fi/in_english/young_people/odys-ideology/the_steps_of_sexuality This is a site produced by Väestöliitto in English. It contains a summary of adolescent services, and longer texts about the sexual development of children and adolescents. This part might be useful as background material for teachers and other professionals providing sexuality education.
Rutgers Nisso Group
http://www.rutgersnissogroep.orgThe Dutch expert centre on sexuality, dedicates itself to promoting sexual and reproductive health, both in the Netherlands and in other countries. Clear, reliable information on sexuality is important in this respect. Rutgers Nisso Groep contributes to the improvement of education, prevention, counselling and policy by gathering and disseminating knowledge. The site is professionally administered and has a clear ownership. The information in English deals with background information, a national survey and some technical information.
The Youthincentives site of the Rutgers Nisso Group has fact sheets and downloads in French and English with very useful tools to practice communication about sexuality. The site can be easily navigated, though the mother site in mainly in Dutch.
PATH: Program for Appropriate Technology in Health
PATH is an international, non profit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. Project-specific funding and government grants currently make up 98 percent of PATH's operating budget. We mention here two links:
http://www.path.org/files/gamesbook.pdf Among other activities they offer a programme on education and training and through the link an attractive comprehensive games book for Reproductive Health and Sexuality (2002) can be downloaded. The manual is in English and has a wide variety of 45 games and instructions how to get started or make your own games, all based on research and theory.
http://www.pathfind.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Pubs_Training_Curriculum This is another link which is very useful. It provides free information and training manuals on sexual and reproductive health issues including methods of contraception. The information can be downloaded directly from the site.
The Sexual Health Network
www.sexualhealth.com The Sexual Health Network provides access to sexuality information, education, support, and other resources that can be used both by clients and educators. It covers the topics of men's and women's sexual health, sexuality education throughout ones life, sexually transmitted diseases and impact of disability or illness on a person's sexuality. Information is available on books and videos on different related topics.
The Emergency Contraception Website
http://ec.princeton.edu/about-us.html This is a website on emergency contraception and it is operated by the Office of Population Research at Princeton University and by the Association of Reproductive health Professionals. The site has no connection with any pharmaceutical company or for-profit organization. The website is well organized and gives useful information for the professional as well as for the general public. The site is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
The Guttmacher Institute
http://www.guttmacher.org The Guttmacher Institute advances sexual and reproductive health through an interrelated program of social science research, policy analysis and public education designed to generate new ideas, encourage enlightened public debate, promote sound policy and program development and, ultimately, inform individual decision making. The Institute produces a wide range of resources on topics pertaining to sexual and reproductive health, including International Family Planning Perspectives, The Guttmacher Policy Review and Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
It is very useful link with lots of information on contraception and abortion but also on sexuality education, see for instance: http://www.guttmacher.org/sections/index.php?page=ptools
The Interagency Youth Working Group (IYWG)
http://www.infoforhealth.org/youthwg The Interagency Youth Working Group (IYWG), formed in 2006, is providing global technical leadership to advance the reproductive health and HIV/AIDS outcomes of young people ages 10-24 in developing countries. On this website you can find information on sexuality education and youth-friendly services, training material for different aspects of sexual and reproductive health of adolescents (also from different religious perspectives), and research tools for research on sexual and reproductive behaviour of young people. One asset of this website is the many manuals which one can simply download. They also have a very useful linking site.
Good Lovers: view on sex education in Flanders, by Sensoa (Belgium)
http://www.sensoa.be/downloadfiles_shop/concept_good_lovers.pdf ‘Good lovers’ as a theme is a provisional synthesis of the direction that we want to take in sex education. The following horizontal working objectives are crucial, but cannot be viewed separately from each other. One can never look at one aspect of sex education in isolation. That is why schools, parents, experts, peers, youth workers and the media can all make a contribution. Sexual and relational education must aim for young people and children to develop into adults who can integrate sexuality and relationships positively into their life.
