Counseling on condom use based on stages of change in an adolescent care center

Abstract

Male and female adolescents are initiating sexual intercourse earlier than in past years, often without the necessary measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with a low use of condoms to prevent STI/AIDS. Counseling based in Transtheoretical Model of Change (TMC), is proponed as an effective strategy for promoting condom use. The aim of this study is to identify the stage of change in which female adolescents are and to describe counseling based on TMC applied for the use of condoms. The method consisted in applying a diagnostic test before and after the execution of the counseling sessions, gathering information qualitatively. The results show that female adolescents are in early stages of change, especially using condoms as a contraceptive. It is necessary to carry out further studies with larger samples to evaluate the impact of counseling in condom use.