Patterns of utilization of sexual and reproductive health services by secondary school-going adolescents in Gaborone, Botswana, 2012.
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Date
2014
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Abstract
Background: Adolescents in Botswana, especially women, face many sexual and reproductive
health (SRH) challenges including high maternal mortality, sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) including HIV, and unintended pregnancies, despite available SRH services. The youth
friendly service (YFS) concept has been initiated and various strategies developed to address
adolescents concerns. However, services remain underutilized and barriers to accessing services
still exist.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine patterns of utilization of sexual and reproductive
health services by adolescents attending senior secondary schools in Gaborone in 2012. The
specific objectives were to: identify SRH services utilized by adolescents in the district; identify
factors associated with adolescent utilization of YFS in the district; and determine barriers and
facilitators to utilization of available YFS by adolescents.
Design: This was a health systems research, which was conducted through an observational
study, with descriptive and analytic components.
Methods: 506 adolescents attending at the three (3) senior secondary schools in Gaborone were
sampled through a simple random sampling strategy in each school. Parental consent and assent
from participants was requested before respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire
which was designed for the data collection. The questionnaire was pilot tested prior to the study.
SPSS version 16 was used to analyse the data. A chi-squared test and logistic regression were
used investigate association, and a p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: The findings of this study revealed that utilization of SRH by adolescents was low and
the level of awareness of youth friendly services was also low. The study revealed that utilization
of SRH was higher among female adolescents compared to their male counterparts. The study
identified factors which hinder adolescents YFS utilization, which include: location of the
facility, no interest in YFS, staff attitudes and behaviours, and inconvenient hours of operation.
Conclusion: Identifying patterns of utilization of SRH services by adolescents attending senior
secondary schools in Gaborone can help strengthen programmes at all levels of service delivery
and the country at large. The Botswana Ministries of Health, and Education and Skills
Development can re-orientate, or develop new initiatives that will deal with barriers to access
and assist adolescents to fully utilize the available services.
Description
Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2014.
Keywords
Teenagers--Health and hygiene--Botswana--Gaborone., Teenagers--Sexual behaviour--Botswana--Gaborone., Family planning services--Botswana--Gaborone., Reproductive health services--Botswana--Gaborone., Theses--Public health.