Assessment Of Parent-adolescent Communication On Sexual And Reproductive Health Matters In Awassa Town Snnpr Ethiopia

Introduction- Sexual and reproductive health problems of adolescents in Ethiopia are rising from time torntime. This may be associated with early sexual initiation. Different researches done in different countriesrnhad showed that good family communication regarding sexual risk behavior has been positively associatedrnwith a delay in sexual activity. There are different factors affecting communication between parents andrnadolescents regarding SRH issues which are uncovered.rnObjective- The study is done in an attempt to identify those factors and the influence of parent-adolescentrncommunication on sexual and reproductive health of students Methodology- A cross-sectional descriptivernstudy involving 694 randomly selected students among four high schools in Awassa, Ethiopia. A pretestedrnstructured anonymous questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, which was entered,rncleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 11.0 statistical package. Qualitative information was obtainedrnfrom four focus group discussions and sixteen peer-to-peer interviews segregated by gender. A binaryrnlogistic regression analysis was used to asses the impact of determinants.rnResults- Two hundred five (30.4%) of the students discussed with either of their parents in at least tworntopics of SRH. Nevertheless, most of the respondents preferred to discuss SRH issue with theirrnpeers/friends than their parents.rn7rnMother being literate [OR=1.63; 95%CI=1.17, 2.27], adolescents’ having knowledge on STI,rncontraceptive, fertile period during menstrual cycle and emergency contraceptive [OR=2.56; 95%CI=1.51,rn4.62, OR=2.17; 95%CI= 1.32, 3.53, OR=1.57; 95%CI=1.13, 2.18 and OR=2.58 95%CI=1.84, 3.63rnrespectively] were associated with communication of parent and adolescents on SRH.rnThe most reported factor that affects communication between parents and adolescents on SRH issues werernshamefulness, parents’ lack of knowledge and that the issue is culturally unacceptable.rnBoth males and females were more comfortable to discuss sexual and reproductive health issues withrnmother. There is significant difference across gender where more females being comfortable discussionrnwith mother [OR=2.37; 95%CI= 1.60, 3.49]rnConclusion and recommendation- The overall research finding shows that communication on SRHrnissues promotes healthy behaviors of adolescent. Nevertheless, there is low communication betweenrnparent and adolescent on different SRH issues with different reasons for not discussing.rnHence, based on the findings obtained in this study it is recommended that comprehensive family liferneducation (FLE) should be initiated for the students and parents in school, home, religious institution, andrnhealth facilities for effective communication to occur on SRH. In addition programs working in ASRHrnshould include parents to address parental influences on adolescents’ reproductive health and work tornalleviate those factors which affect communication between parent and adolescents. Additional researchrnneeds to explore the influence of parent –adolescent communication on SRH issues on adolescentrnreproductive health especially using analytical studies.

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism