Peer education remains a popular strategy for
health promotion and prevention, but evidence
of its effectiveness is still limited. This article
presents a systematic review of peer education
interventions in the European Union that were
published between January 1999 and May
2010. The objective of the review is to determine
the effectiveness of peer education programs
for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
prevention, adolescent pregnancy prevention
and promotion of sexual health among young
people. Standardized methods of searching and
data extraction were utilized and five studies
were identified. Although a few statistically
significant and non-significant changes were
observed in the studies, it is concluded that,
overall, when compared to standard practice or
no intervention, there is no clear evidence of the
effectiveness of peer education concerning HIV
prevention, adolescent pregnancy prevention
and sexual health promotion for young people
in the member countries of the European
Union. Further research is needed to determine
factors that contribute to program effectiveness.