Utilization Of Reproductive Health Services And Associated Demographic And Socio-economic Factors Among Adolescents (15-19 Years) In Selected Health Facilities In Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Background: Utilization of reproductive health (RH) services is an important component inrnpreventing reproductive age adolescents from reproductive health problems. Reproductive healthrnis the pool of methods, techniques and services that contribute to reproductive health and wellbeing by preventing and solving sexual health problems especially for adolescents from 15-19rnyears old.rnObjective: This study was aimed at investigating the utilization of RH services in selected healthrnfacilities and associated demographic and socio-economic factors among adolescents aged 15-19rnin Addis Ababa.rnMethodology: An institutional based cross-sectional study was used to assess the utilization ofrnRH services and the associated demographic and socio-economic factors by administering a pretested semi-structured questionnaire from April 1 - May 30, 2021. A snowball sampling techniquernwas used to select a total of 340 adolescents living in Addis Ababa from 5 purposefully selectedrnhealth facilities. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 23 software package. Logisticrnregression was done to identify possible factors associated with RH service utilization. P value lessrnthan 0.05 was considered as a level of significance.rnResults: Out of 306 participants 162 (53%) were males and 144 (47%) were females and 96.3%rnof the study participants were single. More than 93% were currently enrolled to school. From therntotal 25% of the study participants have had sex in their life. One hundred three (33.8%) of studyrnparticipants utilized at least one of the RH services from the five RHs. The adolescents’ discussionrnof sexual and reproductive health issues with their sexual partners (AOR= 2.368, 95% CI: 1.168 -rn4.802) and with their peers (AOR= 2.360, 95% CI: 1.155 - 4.820) showed positive associationrnwith the utilization of reproductive health services. Adolescents who did not live with both theirrnparents showed a higher odds (AOR= 2.570, 95% CI= 1.155 - 4.820) in the utilization ofrnreproductive health services as compared to those who had lived with parents.rnConclusion and recommendations: The overall utilization of RH services among adolescents wasrnlow (33.8%). Discussion with sexual partners and peers were among the predictors for the use ofrnRH services. Therefore, interventions such as advancing adolescents’ knowledge, strengthening ofrnyouth centers and school reproductive health clubs are important steps to improve adolescent RHrnservice utilization.