In a two-school quasi-experimental evaluation, the SESS (System-Empowerment-Support-Social Network) model was associated with improvements in adolescent sexual health perceptions and preventive practices, though attitudinal changes were limited.
The SESS intervention was associated with significantly higher perception scores in the intervention school compared to the comparison school post-intervention.
The SESS intervention was associated with significantly higher preventive practice scores in the intervention school compared to the comparison school post-intervention.
Attitudinal changes toward sexual health were minimal following the SESS intervention.
No pregnancies or self-reported STI cases were documented among intervention participants during the follow-up period.
The SESS model is a multi-component framework combining system coordination, empowerment workshops, peer and institutional support, and digital social media platforms.
The study design was a quasi-experimental two-school evaluation, which limits the ability to establish causal effectiveness.
This research suggests that a structured, multi-component school program called the SESS model—combining coordination between school systems, empowerment workshops for students, peer and teacher support, and engagement through social media platforms like Facebook and LINE—can improve how Thai adolescents perceive sexual health risks and adopt preventive behaviors. The study was conducted over 16 weeks in Northeastern Thailand with 240 high school students aged 15–19, comparing one school that received the SESS program to another that continued regular health education. After the program, students in the SESS school scored notably higher on measures of sexual health perception and preventive practices compared to the comparison school. However, the program appeared to have little effect on students' attitudes toward sexual health, suggesting that changing deeply held beliefs may require different or longer-term approaches. No pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections were self-reported among the intervention students during the study period, though this observation alone cannot be attributed solely to the program given the short timeframe and study design. This research suggests that blending empowerment-based education with social media and community support structures is a feasible approach for school-based sexual health promotion in this context. The authors caution that because only two schools were compared, broader multi-school trials are needed to confirm whether these improvements reflect a true program effect that could be replicated across different settings.
Norkaew J, Homchampa P, Chanthamath S, Wongkongdech R. (2025). SESS Model for Adolescent Sexual Health Promotion: A Quasi-Experimental Two-School Evaluation in Thailand.. International journal of environmental research and public health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101536