Abstract

A venereal disease educational programme entitled Venereal Disease Education in West Virginia was constructed. It consisted of a preliminary test to assess the level of general knowledge of venereal diseases, a value survey list, a lecture illustrated by colour slides, and a final test. The programme was presented to 3210 students in Northcentral West Virginia who ranged in age from 12 to 20 years (7th to 12th grade). The mean score in the preliminary test was 7.97 (53%) correct answers out of 15, and the mean score for the final test was 11.55 (77%) correct answers out of 15. The ability of students to retain the information given to them was measured by testing the same class of 53 students one year later. These students obtained a mean score of 11.41 (76%) correct answers out of 15 in the later test which demonstrates that the students had retained much of the information.