THE EFFECT OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION ON KNOWLEDGE IMPROVEMENT AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN EARLY AGE MARRIAGE PREVENTION EFFORTS

Abstract

In the modern era like today, early marriages occur a lot especially among teenagers. One of the factors that influences the incidence of early marriage is knowledge. Based on 2021 data, in Sumedang Regency there were 9,905 marriages recorded and 13% of them were early marriages which were dominated by women. In 2022, in Cimanggung District there will be 327 marriages recorded. Of the 327 marriages, 89 of them were married at the age of less than 21 years. This research aims to determine the effect of health education on increasing students' knowledge about reproductive health and early marriage. This research was carried out at PGRI 314 Parakanmuncang Middle School with a population of 518 people. The sample in this study was 84 people. The method used is Pre experimental design with one group pre-test post-test design . Data collection uses research instruments in the form of questionnaires. The data analysis technique used is the Wilcoxon test . The research results showed that the average knowledge of students before being given health education was 83%, and after being given health education it was 90.1%. The Wilcoxon test results obtained Asymp.Sig value. 0.000, this value is smaller than the alpha value of 0.05. It can be concluded that there is an influence of health education on increasing students' knowledge. Researchers suggest that schools collaborate with local health centers to hold adolescent reproductive health counseling programs.