Determinants of Contraceptives Uptake among Adolescents’ Girls Aged 14-19 Years in Homa Bay County

Introduction. Adolescents are individuals aged between 10-19 years. This phase is characterised by rapid growth, sexual maturation, and sexual exploration. These behaviours expose sexually active adolescent girls to a greater risk of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, and sexually transmitted infections. This study aimed to assess the determinants of contraceptives uptake among adolescent girls in Homa Bay County in Kenya with specific objectives assessing the level of awareness, uptake as well as evaluating the factors affecting the sexual & reproductive health service provision to adolescent girls in the region. Result: A cross-sectional survey was done targeting 385 girls and 32 health facilities. The response rate was 100%, with the level of knowledge on contraceptives at 97.6%. The main sources of knowledge on contraceptives were from teachers in schools (30%), peers (17.2%) and media. 70% of the respondents were in a heterosexual relationship of which 58.6% preferred male condom use as their contraceptive method of choice, while the use of pills was the least at 0.6%. The majority (57.9%) of the girls did not practice safer sex exposing them to a higher risk of Sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies. Discussions: The level of contraceptive uptake significantly varied from one sub-county to the other (p < 0.005), with the sub-counties in the Islands of Lake Victoria such as Suba sub-counties having up to 80% lesser chance of their girls using any form of contraceptives (OR = 0.2; CI: 0.2–0.8). Major barriers were the fear of side effects (51.8%) and self-stigmatisation (13.4 %). Health facilities were the main source of contraceptives (77.1%); however, the study noted a lack of youth-friendly services that would favour increased access. Further, there was a complete lack of knowledge on adolescent sexual and reproductive health policies and procedures among the girls (39.6%). Conclusion: Misinformation, cultural perception on the use of contraceptives among adolescents, and lack of youth-friendly services in health facilities are key drivers to the underutilisation of contraceptives by adolescent girls in Homabay county. Adolescents from the island stand a higher risk of non-utilisation of contraceptives compared to their mainland counterparts. Recommendations: There is a need for strengthened youth-friendly comprehensive sexual health education and services in all health facilities with more emphasis on risk reduction interventions and sensitisation of young girls on the available policies. Mechanisms should be availed, specifically to reach the “hard to reach” adolescent populations in the islands.

Photovoice as a research, advocacy, and harmonization tool for refugee and local youth in Turkey

Background Turkey has millions of refugee and local youth, who share common youth health problems. As part of the REACH Project, this study aimed to assess youth's access to health information, health care, and healthy environments, in addition to their perspectives on using digital health technologies. Methods We used photovoice, a community based participatory research approach, and worked with 4 mixed (refugee and local) youth groups between the ages of 15 to 24 in Istanbul. Each youth group met with the research team and a professional photographer before data collection. Young people then took photos of barriers and facilitators regarding their access to health information, health care, and digital health technologies, in addition to their health problems. This was followed by focus group-like discussions, where young people discussed the photos and their meanings for them. Content analysis was used for data analysis and findings were shared with stakeholders via photo exhibits, panels, and policy briefs for advocacy purposes. The study was funded by TaiwanICDF and Columbia University. Results Findings showed that youth had a wide range of physical, social and mental health problems coupled with problems in accessing health information and youth-friendly services. Problems with social determinants of health were more prominent for refugees. Although youth often used the internet to access information, their experiences with digital health technologies were very limited. Conclusions Our study findings indicated that despite legal rights to access health care for all youth, refugee youth faced more barriers in accessing information and services. On the other hand, refugee and local youth showed similarities regarding common youth health problems and access to youth-friendly services. The photovoice approach enabled active participation and created a shared environment for refugee and local youth to discuss their mutual problems and understand each other. Key messages Photography is a communication tool that acts as a bridge between participants, researchers, and decision makers. Photovoice, as a participatory approach, creates a learning environment for both participants and researchers.

Contributions of Youth Centers to the Development of Young People in Ethiopia

There has been a global paradigm shift in conceptualizing how best young persons can be assisted from a conventional deficit-based approach of targeting youth to a more enabling approach of promoting their strengths and competencies. Establishment of youth centers was one such global initiative meant to catalyze positive youth development through supervised and youth-friendly services. In recognition of this, several youth centers have been established in Ethiopia in the last few decades. This research was thus conducted to examine contributions of these centers to the development of young people. Data were collected through questionnaire from a sample of 2,165 participants (service providers and service users) and observation of 94 youth centers drawn from all regions of the country. Findings indicated that the contributions of youth centers were generally minimal in terms of promoting overall positive youth development. Some evidence even showed that youth centers could serve as a platform for acquiring undesirable behaviors among the youth mainly because supervisory and follow up services were not evident. While expanding establishment of youth centers is indeed commendable to ensure access to the greater majority of youth, the need to improve service quality, however, is a priority concern for the relevant actors.

Assessing the HIV Knowledge, Awareness, and Utilization of YFS among Undergraduates in Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: The establishment of a Youth Friendly Centre (YFC) is to ensure that the reproductive and sexual health needs of young people are adequately met. However, data have shown that a number of them are not even aware of such Centres in their vicinities or the services they offer, how much more utilize them. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the level of HIV knowledge, awareness, and utilization of Youth Friendly Services (YFS) among undergraduates in Rivers State University, Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 520 students were given structured self-administered questionnaire which had been validated and pretested. Four hundred and forty-six questionnaires were returned properly filled. Information regarding knowledge of Human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), awareness, and utilization of Youth Friendly Services were obtained from the students. Results: Two hundred and nineteen (49.1%) of the students indicated HIV had no cure, while 73(16.4%) reported that there was a cure and 154 (34.5%) specified they were uncertain. The female respondents had a better knowledge compared to their male counterparts. The respondents exhibited a high knowledge of HIV preventive measures with the majority 357 (80%) indicating that abstinence was the best means. All the students agreed that everyone was at risk of HIV if they engaged in risky behaviors. In spite of this good knowledge on HIV, only 112 (25.1%) of the students were aware of a YFCs on campus. Conclusion: The high knowledge level of HIV exhibited by the students did not translate to the awareness and utilization of the YFS. There is still so much to be done by health workers and the university committee if the students are to be encouraged to use the services offered at the Centre.

Development prospects of youth-friendly clinics under healthcare reform

This article analyzes the preconditions for «youth-friendly» services development. The study aims to justify the development prospects and identify ways to improve the efficiency of the Center for Health and Social Assistance to Children and Youth «Youth-Friendly Clinic» in Shostka under healthcare reform. The object of the study is the Center for Health and Social Assistance to Children and Youth «Youth-Friendly Clinic». The study’s subject is the organizational, economic and social relations that arise of the Center for Health and Social Assistance to Children and Youth «Youth-Friendly Clinic» under healthcare reform. The methodological basis of this study is a systematic approach and fundamental premises of the general economic theory. The study involved scientific research methods such as abstract-logical and system-structural analysis to determine the problems leading to the need for «youth-friendly» services; statistical and expert assessments methods to determine the number of visits to the «Youth-Friendly Clinic». The research involved data for 2017-2019. The study determined several global problems that caused the emergence and development of youth-friendly clinics as follows: the risk of morbidity of young people through an active lifestyle; low awareness of young people about the importance of maintaining their own health; lack of specialists competent in socio-psychological problems of today’s youth. Besides, the findings showed that the main prerequisite for youth-friendly clinic development is achieving sustainable development goals, especially goal 3 «Good health and well-being». This study considered preventive work, voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT), medical-diagnostic and social areas of the Center for Health and Social Assistance to Children and Youth «Youth-Friendly Clinic» in Shostka. The authors analyzed the visit dynamic and the share of specialists in-demand among clients of the Center. The most active groups of clients were identified by age and sex. The obtained results allowed identifying the effective management tools of the researched Center, prospects and ways to improve its activity under healthcare reform. The authors indicated further research directions considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youth-friendly clinics and the best world practice in the youth clinics management system.