Resum
In 1983 a one-month course on sex and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) was held in Montevideo for a group of 27 college-bound students between 17 and 20 years of age. As a preliminary step, they were administered a questionnaire on their knowledge of the subject, and a survey was conducted on needs and motivations for the programming of education on sex and STDs. On completion of the course, another questionnaire was administered to ascertain what the students had learned. It was determined that the average level of previous knowledge was 23.42 ; the students sampled also indicated they had not previoulsy received complete information either in school or at home. On completion of the course, the number of correct answers averaged 87.24. . The results and conclusions reached brought out the need for more adequate information about sex and STD education, and for revitalizing and centralizing this information at the teaching and medical levels. They also pointed to the necessity of over coming inhibitions and preconceived ideas about sex and STDs and emphasizing the psychosocial factors in human sexuality. The immediate objectives in this endeavor could be: firstly, to undertake the study of a larger student population; secondly, to launching the near future training in sex and STD education for health workers who will, in turn, train others for a multiplier effect; and thirdly, to propose the