Bankole Akinrinola, Biddlecom Ann, Guiella Georges, Singh Susheela, Zulu Eliya
The Guttmacher Institute, New York, New York, United States.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2007 Dec;11(3):28-43.
Adolescents are a key target group for HIV and pregnancy prevention efforts, yet very little is known about the youngest adolescents: those under age 15. New survey data from 12-14 year olds in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda are used to describe their sexual activity, knowledge about HIV, STIs and pregnancy prevention, and sources of sexual and reproductive health information, including sex education in schools. Results show that very young adolescents are already beginning to be sexually active and many believe their close friends are sexually active. They have high levels of awareness but little in-depth knowledge about pregnancy and HIV prevention. Multiple information sources are used and preferred by very young adolescents. Given their needs for HIV, STI and pregnancy prevention information that is specific and practical and considering that the large majority are attending school in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, school-based sex education is a particularly promising avenue for reaching adolescents under age 15.
青少年是预防艾滋病毒和怀孕工作的关键目标群体，但对于最年幼的青少年，即15岁以下的青少年，我们知之甚少。来自布基纳法索、加纳、马拉维和乌干达12至14岁青少年的新调查数据被用于描述他们的性活动、对艾滋病毒、性传播感染和怀孕预防的知识，以及性健康和生殖健康信息的来源，包括学校的性教育。结果显示，非常年幼的青少年已经开始有性活动，而且许多人认为他们的亲密朋友也有性活动。他们对怀孕和艾滋病毒预防有较高的认识水平，但缺乏深入的知识。非常年幼的青少年使用并偏好多种信息来源。鉴于他们对特定且实用的艾滋病毒、性传播感染和怀孕预防信息的需求，并且考虑到撒哈拉以南非洲大多数国家的绝大多数青少年都在上学，基于学校的性教育是接触15岁以下青少年的特别有前景的途径。
