INSTITUTIONALIZING FERTILITY MANAGEMENT HUMAN-SEXUALITY TRAINING IN COLOMBIAN NURSING SCHOOLS

While there is no universally applied definition of the terms, 'instit utionalization', 'capacity', 'capability' and 'commitment' have been s uggested as sub-indicators of a self-sustained program. This paper des cribes efforts to measure these terms in the context of a fertility ma nagement/human sexuality (FM/HS) education program for student nurses in Colombia. Interviews with 19 school deans formed the basis of measu ring progress towards institutionalization. All the deans supported th e idea of having FM/HS instruction, although resource commitment to ef fectively carry out the instruction varied. Focus groups with professo rs from participating schools provided insights into the effect of the project on both the students and course teachers. Professors found th at students who had taken the course were more effective FM/HS counsel ors in later practical courses. Responses from interviews with a rando m sample of students who had or had not attended the course were compa red to assess the effect of the course on the nursing students. Althou gh attitudes between the two groups did not differ significantly, know ledge levels about FM/HS were significantly higher among nursing stude nts who had attended the course. In general, the results indicate that the participatory educational approach used in teaching the FM/HS top ics was effective in sensitizing both students and teachers to this su bject area.