Biddlecom Ann E, Munthali Alister, Singh Susheela, Woog Vanessa
Guttmacher Institute, New York, NY 10038, United States.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2007 Dec;11(3):99-110.
Adolescents' views of and preferences for sexual and reproductive health services highlight promising directions and persistent challenges in preventing pregnancy and HIV and treating sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) in this population. Results from nationally-representative surveys of 12-19 year-olds in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda in 2004 show that contraceptive and STI services and HIV testing are still under-utilized. A substantial proportion of sexually-active adolescents do not know of any source to obtain contraception or get STI treatment, and social-psychological reasons (e.g., embarrassment or fear) and financial cost remain common barriers to getting services. Adolescents' preferences are overwhelmingly for public clinics, with strongly positive perceptions of confidentiality, accessibility and cost. Some gender and country differences exist, yet overall females and males' views are similar. Results highlight the need to inform youth about sources, increase availability of government health facilities and improve youth's access to them, especially by reducing social barriers.
青少年对性与生殖健康服务的看法及偏好，凸显了在该人群中预防怀孕和艾滋病毒以及治疗性传播感染方面的一些有前景的方向和持续存在的挑战。2004年在布基纳法索、加纳、马拉维和乌干达对12至19岁青少年进行的全国代表性调查结果显示，避孕和性传播感染服务以及艾滋病毒检测的利用率仍然很低。很大一部分性活跃的青少年不知道从何处获取避孕措施或接受性传播感染治疗，社会心理原因（如尴尬或恐惧）和经济成本仍然是获得服务的常见障碍。青少年绝大多数更喜欢公共诊所，对其保密性、可及性和成本有着非常积极的看法。存在一些性别和国家差异，但总体而言，女性和男性的观点相似。结果表明，有必要向青少年宣传服务来源，增加政府卫生设施的可及性，并改善青少年获取这些设施的机会，特别是通过减少社会障碍来实现。
