Health education with adolescents: analysis of knowledge acquisition on health topics

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the acquisition of knowledge on three themes: Oral Health, Drug use Prevention and Sexuality. The research subjects were adolescents enrolled in public schools, in the south of Santa Catarina state. Methods: It is a field research, temporal, prospective, analytical, carried out in two public schools on the mentioned state. The sample size of adolescents, of both sexes, aged 11-17 years, varied according the theme: 108 (oral health), 105 (drugs prevention), 99 (sexuality). For every action, it was developed and implemented a questionnaire (pre/post-action) with specific topics. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of Research. Results: The actions, although punctual, showed positive results in increasing the knowledge of adolescents on drug prevention and sexuality, which did not happen on the theme of oral health. Conclusion: The results are related to factors that aroused the interest of adolescents, for example, methods which promote dialogue, exchange of experiences, reflect on their own practices and relationships with groups of friends/family.