Utilization of Adolescent-Friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health Services among Adolescents in a Secondary School

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescents have to face various physical and psychological problems and need proper health services to solve them. Very few adolescents utilize health services from any kind of health facility in Nepal due to socio-cultural taboos on sex. This study aims to find out the utilization of adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services among adolescents in secondary school.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among students studying in class 12 of a secondary school after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Adolescents aged between 15-19 years, who were present during the time of data collection and who gave consent to take part in this research were included in this study. Convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.

Results: Among 300 adolescents, 74 (24.67%) [19.8–29.5, 95% Confidence Interval] adolescents had utilized adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Among service users, 42 (56.76%) utilized services from the school, the most frequently used service component was counseling on menstrual hygiene 44 (59.46%) and 9 (12.16%) had adequate knowledge regarding adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that one-fourth of adolescents utilized adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, with counseling on menstrual hygiene being the most commonly used service.