Resumen :
En la actualidad, se estima que 38.4 millones viven con VIH en el mundo, siendo Latinoa-mérica la segunda región con más casos nuevos registrados. Uno de los países con más altas tasas de VIH en Latinoamérica es Colombia, donde se estima que aproximadamente dos de cada tres casos se reportan en ado... Ver más
38.4 million people globally live with HIV as of 2021, with Latin America being the region with the second most new cases registered. One of the countries with the highest HIV rates in Latin America is Colombia, where approximately two out of three cases repor-ted are adolescents and young adults. According to official data, 13.8% of these cases are adolescents between 13 and 19 who have been or are currently pregnant. In Colombia, there is a need for updated data on risky sexual behaviours and evidence-based sex education pro-grams. At the moment, they do not exist. Therefore, this doctoral thesis has three specific objectives. Objective 1. Evaluate sexual risk behaviour and its precursor variables (knowle-dge, attitudes, and normative perception), and analyze differences by sex in a sample of Colombian students between the ages of 14 to 19 enrolled. This objective was evaluated
in publication 1, with a descriptive cross-sectional study, including 1,100 Colombian ado-lescents from 14 to 19 years of age. The results suggest a high risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies associated with inconsistent con-dom use (mainly in men), medium-low level awareness about sexual health, low normative perception about condom use, and some perceived difficulty in condom use. Objective 2. Validate, culturally adapt and analyze the reliability and factorial structure of an instrument widely used internationally to assess the attitudes towards HIV; This objective was ted in publication 2, validating the Colombian version of HIV/AS with 867 adolescents. The results of this study showed that the psychometric properties of the Colombian version of this instrument were satisfactory, supporting its use with Colombian adolescents and youth. Objective 3. To culturally adapt and evaluate the short- and long-term efficacy of the sexual health promotion protocol Competencies for Adolescents with Healthy Sexuality (COMPAS) to reduce risky sexual behaviours in Colombian adolescents between the ages of 14 to 19. This objective was evaluated in publications 3 and 4. In the third study, a systematic process of cultural adaptation used a mixed-methods approach, including the evaluation and adapta-tion of the COMPAS sessions (a school-based program for the prevention of HIV and sexual health promotion), with 100 adolescents from 15 to 19 years old. The results show that the cultural adaptation of the COMPAS program incorporates elements including a solid theore-tical foundation, sexual communication skills and social support for protection, and gui-dance on using the cultural and linguistic services available. In publication 4, the program’s effectiveness was evaluated immediately after and six months after the application. The initial sample consisted of 2,047 adolescents from 11 Colombian cities. The results indicated that COMPAS, an intervention with proven efficacy in Spain, is effective in promoting heal-thy sexuality in adolescents in Colombia.
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