Child Development Centre, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 011, Kerala, South India,
Indian J Pediatr. 2013 Nov;80 Suppl 2:S192-8. doi: 10.1007/s12098-013-1136-2. Epub 2013 Aug 11.
To understand the problems faced and the difference in knowledge, attitude and practice of young people across the age group of 10-24 y on reproductive and sexual health issues and to get their suggestions regarding adolescent care services.
This cross sectional community survey involving three districts in Kerala was conducted among adolescents and young adults of 10-24 y using a population proportion to sample size technique.
The main problems faced by the young people between 10 and 24 y of age were financial, substance abuse in family, poor academic performance, difference of opinion, disease in self/family, mental problems, lack of talent, strict parents, difficulty in mingling, love failure, broken family, loneliness and problems at school/office in the descending order. As the age advances higher percentage of both boys (43.4%) and girls (61.7%) discuss reproductive sexual health issues among themselves. There was a statistically significant difference in personal hygiene practices like changing napkins/cloths more than once a day (94.3%), cleaning genital organs with soap every day (71.7%), washing after urination (69.2%), washing from front to back after defecation (62.2%) and washing hands with soap after defecation (73.2%) between 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 y age group with higher percentages in the older groups. In order to make the service more useful, more of the older group participants suggested giving information on adolescent services to parents, adolescents and society as a whole by creating better societal acceptance and keeping confidentiality in service delivery.
This study has shown an overall inadequacy in reproductive health knowledge in all age groups, but increasing knowledge gain and better attitude and practices on reproductive and sexual health as the age increases. The suggestions made by the group regarding need for adolescent reproductive sexual health (ARSH) and counseling services with privacy and confidentiality ensured, is useful for planning ARSH services under National Rural Health Mission.
了解 10-24 岁年龄段的年轻人在生殖健康和性健康问题上面临的问题以及知识、态度和实践方面的差异，并就青少年保健服务征求他们的意见。
本横断面社区调查在喀拉拉邦的三个地区进行，调查对象为 10-24 岁的青少年和青年，采用人口比例抽样技术。
10-24 岁年轻人面临的主要问题按降序排列依次为：经济问题、家庭药物滥用、学业成绩不佳、意见分歧、自身/家庭患病、心理问题、缺乏才能、父母严厉、难以交往、恋爱失败、单亲家庭、孤独和学校/办公室问题。随着年龄的增长，越来越多的男孩（43.4%）和女孩（61.7%）会相互讨论生殖和性健康问题。在个人卫生习惯方面，10-14 岁、15-19 岁和 20-24 岁年龄组之间存在统计学显著差异，例如每天更换一次以上的卫生巾/衣服（94.3%）、每天用肥皂清洁生殖器（71.7%）、排尿后清洗（69.2%）、排便后从前向后清洗（62.2%）和排便后用肥皂洗手（73.2%），年龄较大的组百分比更高。为了使服务更有用，更多的年长组参与者建议向父母、青少年和整个社会提供青少年服务信息，以提高社会接受度并确保服务提供的保密性。
本研究表明，所有年龄组的生殖健康知识总体不足，但随着年龄的增长，生殖健康知识的获取、态度和实践都有所提高。该组提出的有关隐私和保密性的青少年生殖健康和咨询服务的建议，对于国家农村卫生使命下的青少年生殖健康服务规划是有用的。
