The present National Project Competencies Development for Health and Healthy Sexuality based on the Identification of Needs in Scholar Milieu and Institutional MilieuP (TDC/CPE-CED/120404/2010), in action-research methodology, now in a diagnosis phase, is working by the collection, eliciting and interpretation of eight case-studies (Cohen et al., 2008)
Severe family dysfunctions have led to residence host of a progressive number children and young Portuguese people (Instituto da Segurança Social, 2013), aiming to protect them from physical and emotional threatening contexts, including premature sexual and health risky behaviors (Antunes, 2010; Magalhães, 2010).
Dysfunctional families (Furniss, 1991; Marvasti, 1995; Alves, 2007; Dias, 2010, p 35) refers to those presenting episodes of domestic/intimate partner violence, existing reduced bonds, frequent change of partner, limited communication and ambivalent rules ("yes" and "no", and usually simultaneous) or inadequate. Other criteria are death, separation/divorce, or serious family accidental crises, like emigration and/or change of residence, absence of significant figure, like the father, traditionally.
The main purpose of this work is to understand the conceptions and phenomena associated to the sexuality and affectivity themes of youngsters that lived in long term foster care catholic homes, in order to create structures that stimulate personal and social skills in youngsters that are now living outside families.
The law reinforcement that have been published in Portugal (Law n.º 120/99; Law n.º 60/2009; Ordinance n.º 196-A/2010) concerning the implementation of Sex Education (SE) in scholar environment, has been followed by us while, simultaneously, we have carried out research in this domain
(Anastácio, 2007; 2010), realized training sessions for teachers and educators and tried to know the results of SE implementation in other countries through the description and analysis of SE programs in schools (Kirby, 2007; quoted by UNESCO, 2009 a, vol. I, p. 12), and protection institutions.
Being one problem the difficulty of the implementation of SE in a consistent and continuous way by teachers and educators, as we know trough the contact we have with schools and protection institutions, and one another the emergence of sexual behaviors of the young people that can threaten their sexual health experience, our proposal is to make a planned intervention for which we define the following research questions: (1) How is it possible to promote sexual health and sexuality education in schools and protections institutions?; (2) Are there differences between scholar environment and institutional environment concerning the implementation of a SE Program?
Assuming that sex education can be a way to reduce sexual health problems of youth as well as is an important dimension of individual health, we intend to search responses to the research questions above, considering as theoretical framework to guide this project health promotion models and action research methodology, which has in common a cycle that include since identification of needs, planning the intervention or action and doing its evaluation The health promotion model that referred the development of competencies from the identification of needs of the individuals by themselves is the empowerment model, distinguishing self-empowerment and community empowerment and considering the organizational aspects that can be related to the inclusion of the theme in the curriculum.
