Improving Malaysian adolescent sexual and reproductive health: An Internet-based health promotion programme as a potential intervention

Objective:Internet-based health promotion offers a promising approach to fostering healthy sexual behaviour among adolescents. The objective of this study was to identify the potential of an Internet-based programme to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge among Malaysian young people.Design:A pre-test/post-test design was used to study the potential of the Malaysian Care for Adolescent Project (MyCAP) website for online SRH education. Created by health professionals, the SRH module provides detailed and accurate information about the male and female reproductive systems, the stages of adolescent development, puberty (bodily development, menstruation and wet dreams), teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and social situations such as avoiding premarital sex.Setting:A total of 209 young adolescents aged 12 years were recruited from a school in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur.Method:Students were randomly assigned to either an Internet-based or a conventional method group. T...