The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need to tailor many social programs—including sexual health programs for adolescents—to be implemented in virtual settings. Even in 2022, many schools are pivoting back and forth between in-person and virtual classes. Child Trends and its implementation partners at Identity, Inc gained experience with virtually implementing the El Camino goal-setting sexual health promotion curriculum in high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Given the uncertainty of the post-pandemic world, it is important that facilitators and administrators of sexual health promotion curricula have the flexibility for virtual implementation to ensure that youth receive the education they need to promote their sexual health. While Child Trends previously published lessons learned from adapting the program and implementing it virtually, this tip sheet presents those lessons in an easy-to-use table format to allow program facilitators and implementation staff to easily access information while implementing a sexual health promotion curriculum.

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More About the El Camino Sexual Health Promotion Curriculum

El Camino is a goal-setting sexual health promotion curriculum that is available in both English and Spanish and targeted toward Latino youth. El Camino is based in Positive Youth Development and encourages youth to set goals, make informed sexual and reproductive health choices, and have healthy relationships. Preliminary research on El Camino’s in-person implementation suggests that youth across seven cities responded well to the curriculum and that participation led to changes in their sexual health attitudes and knowledge.[1]

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Acknowledgements

This publication was made possible by Grant Number 1 TP2AH000077-01-00 from the HHS Office of Population Affairs. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Population Affairs.

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Footnote

[1] Before implementing the curriculum in a virtual setting, Child Trends adapted the El Camino program. This required an iterative approach that prompted changes to the curriculum’s implementation instructions. Additional information about El Camino and links to the English- and Spanish-language curriculum materials (including more detailed virtual adaptation instructions) can be found here.