King County's Sex Education Program Curbs Teen Pregnancy: Study

KING COUNTY, WA — King County is touting newly published academic research that found its widely-used "FLASH" sexual education curriculum can play a significant role in preventing unplanned teen pregnancies.

The curriculum, first developed by public health officials more than three decades ago, continues to be part of the sex-ed program in all King County school districts, having undergone several revisions to remain "cutting-edge," officials said Tuesday.

While county leaders have long believed in the program's effectiveness, officials said a recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health is the first scientific evaluation of its merits.

"Our goal with FLASH is to improve health education in classrooms, both here locally and across the nation," said Patty Hayes, director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "Completing this research is a huge step in building an evidence base – and being able to help families, schools and of course high school students know they are getting sexual health education that is fact-based and really works."

The five-year research project included 1,500 students from the Midwest and the South, with half participating in the FLASH program and the other half receiving a standard curriculum in their public school classroom. Researchers found 9th and 10th graders who took FLASH saw several benefits, including:

• Increased birth control and condom use among students who had not previously had sex, compared to peers who had not received FLASH.
• Increased confidence to say no to sex, compared to peers.
• Increased confidence to acquire and use condoms correctly, compared to peers.
• Improved understanding that birth control is effective and that other teens are also successfully using birth control.

According to researchers, students completed questionnaires before they started the program, then twice after its completion. Aside from being effective, researchers also found students generally responded well to the program. Officials said more than 90 percent stated they would recommend FLASH to a fellow student.

Locally, officials credited the curriculum with helping to keep King County's teen birth rate 2.5 times lower than the national average.

Learn more about the FLASH curriculum on the King County website.