Out of school youth is one sector of civil society at high risk of contracting social behavioral health problem. Reaching out to them could be a very effective strategy in preventing or averting social behavioral illness. Educating them is still the most cost effective health strategy to date. This is a pre and post-interventional study aimed to assess the effect of lecture as a form of health education intervention on the knowledge and attitude of the out-of-school youths on HIV/AIDS and STD prevention in Barangay Baking, Lakewood Zamboanga Del Sur. Total count was utilized in this study involving all youths, who were not enrolled in school. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of health risk behaviors which revealed that out of 83 respondents 29 or 35% confessed that they engaged in premarital sex. The high prevalence of pre-marital sex as a health risk behavior among the respondents made the researcher decide to dwell on the issue of STD and HIV/AIDS prevention. Another self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the respondents on STD and HIV/AIDS prevention during pre-intervention (1 day before), post intervention 1 (1 day after), post intervention 2 (1 month after) and post intervention 3 (2 months after) using the same questionnaire. Paired T-test was used to determine the enhancement and retention of knowledge and attitude of the respondents. There was a significant increase in the knowledge mean score from the pre-intervention to post 1 with mean score of 3.24 and 7.60, respectively with a p-value of 0.000. Further increase was noted one month (8.54) and two months (12.65) after the intervention with a p-value of 0.000. Attitudes of the respondents were analyzed with Paired T-test and still showed a significant increase in the mean score from pre-intervention (26.48) to post intervention 1(28.08). Further increase was also noted one month (31.84) and 2 months (36.48) after, with a p-value of 0.000. This study concludes that lecture as a form of health education among the out-of-school youth is effective in the enhancement and retention of the knowledge and attitude of the respondents regarding STD and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Keyword: Lecture HIV STD prevention out of school youth lakewood zamboanga del sur