scholarly journals Impact of the Pandemic on Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Low Income Countries with Reference to Nepal

Patan Pragya ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-209
Author(s):  
Thuma Kumari Poudel

Access to reproductive health services saves women for safe sex, safe pregnancy and child birth. This paper intends to analyze the impact of pandemic on reproductive health services during one decade 1920-2020 B.S. To achieve the above mentioned objective, descriptive method is used. Data are collected from secondary sources and major biggest pandemic of one hundred years which have larger impact on public health including reproductive health and large scale of mortality. The history of pandemic shows that service delivery of reproductive health to women was seriously affected during pandemic period. There was difficult to achieve basic health facility to pregnant women during pandemic period, they also face problems to achieve reproductive health services. The influenza   affects to the pregnant women. They were severely ill during their pregnancy. There was a negative impression with health providers and pregnant women at health centre at the time of providing sexual and reproductive health services during the Ebola virus. The Zika virus effects on women's sexual and reproductive rights. The reproductive health services became at more serious cases at the time of HIV/AIDS pandemic. Pregnant women, infants and young children had serious impact of H1N1 virus. Women are facing problems to get reproductive health services like access of family planning, abortion care and other infectious diseases during Covid-19 periods. These problems also increased risk to unwanted pregnancy, risk of unsafe abortion and risk of STDs to the women. Women were facing lacking of sexual and reproductive health services due to the lockdown, physical distance, travel restrictions and economic slowdown during covid-19 pandemic.

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1074-1083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Hamm ◽  
Elizabeth Miller ◽  
Lovie Jackson Foster ◽  
Mario Browne ◽  
Sonya Borrero

Despite demonstrable need, men’s utilization of sexual and reproductive health services remains low. This low utilization may particularly affect low-income men, given the disproportionate prevalence of unintended pregnancy in low-income populations. Bolstering men’s utilization of sexual and reproductive health services requires understanding the services that are most relevant to them. Semistructured interviews about fatherhood, fertility intention, and contraceptive use were conducted with 58 low-income Black and White men in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis to determine common themes that were most relevant to the men interviewed. The primacy of financial stability emerged as a dominant theme in men’s perceptions of fatherhood readiness, successful fathering, and fertility intentions. However, men had children despite feeling financially unprepared, and their contraceptive use was not always congruent with their stated fertility intentions. Some men described financial services as a feature of family planning services that they would find useful. Because of the salience of financial stability in preparation for fatherhood, integrating financial counseling and job skills training into the context of sexual and reproductive health services could be a useful structural intervention to increase men’s use of family planning services and to provide them with the support they say they need as fathers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Ellen Abrafi Boamah-Kaali ◽  
Seyram Kaali ◽  
Grace Manu ◽  
Stephaney Gyaase ◽  
Elisha Adeniji ◽  
...  

Introduction. Tailoring sexual and reproductive health programs and services to the needs of adolescents will help adolescents make informed decisions and choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health. Objective. To assess the opinions of service providers on tailoring sexual and reproductive health services to the needs of adolescents. Method. A qualitative study using indepth interviews was held among eight decision-makers and service providers in two hospitals within the Kintampo North Municipality and Kintampo South District as well as the Municipal and District Health Directorates in Kintampo North and South between April and May 2011. Results. All respondents expressed the opinion that it is a good idea to tailor sexual and reproductive health services to the needs of adolescents. They admitted that very limited sexual and reproductive health programs targeting adolescent needs were available in the study area. Service providers also reported very low levels of health facilities use by adolescents for sexual and reproductive health information and services. Health professionals attributed the poor sexual and reproductive health services utilization by adolescents to stigma from the society and attitudes of service providers. Conclusion. There are no targeted sexual and reproductive health programmes and services for adolescents. Services providers indicated that it is important to tailor sexual and reproductive health services to the needs of adolescents to prevent stigma, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted infections.


Author(s):  
Salima Meherali ◽  
Bisi Adewale ◽  
Sonam Ali ◽  
Megan Kennedy ◽  
Bukola (Oladunni) Salami ◽  
...  

Adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are struggling with accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and COVID-19 has escalated the problem. The purpose of this review was to identify and assess the existing literature on the impact of the pandemic on SRH needs and access to services by adolescents in LMICs. A scoping review was conducted to collate findings on the topic. Searches were performed on eight databases. Data were extracted and categorized into various themes. After removing duplicates and performing a full-text reading of all articles, nine articles were included in our review. Our findings generated several themes related to adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include (1) limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, (2) school closure and increased rate of early marriages, (3) sexual or intimate partner violence during COVID-19, (4) disruption in maternity care, (5) adolescents’ involvement in risky or exploitative work, (6) intervention to improve sexual and reproductive health services during COVID-19, and (7) policy development related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Several recommendations were made on policies—for instance, the use of telemedicine and community-based programs as a way to deliver SRH services to adolescents during and after a pandemic.


Author(s):  
Tun W. Lat ◽  
Yan Aung ◽  
Min Thu ◽  
Thandar Tun ◽  
Kyaw S. Mya

Background: Premarital sexual practices among youth and adolescents have been highly recognized and are increasing worldwide. This study aimed to assess the awareness and perception on sexual and reproductive health and self-reported premarital sex among never married youth.Methods: The study used mixed method approach among 404 youth of equal number of male and female youth from urban and rural community using guided self-administered questionnaire and in-depth interview among 12 youth and key informant interview among 6 health professionals.Results: The study found that 11.4% (95% CI: 8.3, 14.5) of youth had premarital sex practice. After adjusting the covariates, the odds of practicing premarital sex were higher among 18 years and above (AOR=3.5, 95% CI: 1.2, 9.6), low education (AOR=3.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 10.7), youth having relationship (AOR=8.0, 95% CI: 3.0, 21.2) and youth who accepted premarital sex practice (AOR=10.9, 95% CI: 3.6, 33,1), having friends who had experience in premarital sex (AOR=3.9, 95% CI: 1.3, 11.4), compared to their counterparts. The qualitative findings revealed that most of youth and service providers did not accept premarital sex among youth because of its contradiction to traditional norms. Health care providers and youth suggested that privacy was the most critical thing in accessibility of reproductive health services among youth. All levels of providers pointed out that there were insufficient resources for provision of effective reproductive health services.Conclusions: Youth-friendly reproductive health services should be implemented to prevent unwanted pregnancy, abortions and sexually transmitted diseases to ensure safer sex practices among youth. 


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Binezero Mambo ◽  
Franck K. Sikakulya ◽  
Robinson Ssebuufu ◽  
Yusuf Mulumba ◽  
Henry Wasswa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health care access in many countries. The aim of this study was to explore factors that influenced access and utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services among Ugandan youths during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Methods This was across-sectional study carried out from April 2020 to May 2020 in Uganda. A questionnaire was administered online to participants aged 18 to 30 years. Subjects were recruited using a snowballing approach. STATA version 14.2 was used for statistical analysis.Results Of 724 participants, 203 (28%) reported that they did not have access to information and/or education concerning sexual and reproductive health (SRH). More than a quarter of the participants (26.9%, n=195) reported that testing and treatment services of sexually transmitted infections were not available during the lockdown. 27.2% could not obtain contraceptive supplies. Access to HIV services and menstrual supplies were also impaired. Lack of transportation was the commonest factor cited as limiting access to SRH services during the lockdown (68.7%), followed by the long distance from home to SRH facilities (55.2%), high cost of services (42.2%) and the curfew (39.1%). Sexually transmitted infections were the commonest SRH problems related to SRH during the lockdown (40.4%) followed by unwanted pregnancy (32.4%) and sexual abuse (32.4%). Marital, educational, and employment status were significantly correlated with the reported experiences of the participants. Conclusion Access to SRH information and services for Ugandan youths was restricted during the COVID-19 lockdown and may have increased the incidence of poor SRH outcomes. Lack of transportation, distance to health facilities, and high cost of services were important limiting factors. The Government and other stakeholders should incorporate SRH among the priority services to be preserved during future outbreaks.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document