Department of Community Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria.
Health Policy Research Group, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria.
BMJ Open. 2022 Jun 8;12(6):e051389. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051389.
This study explored the perceptions of adult stakeholders on adolescents sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs, variations of perceived needs by different social stratifiers and adolescent's perceived interventions to address these needs. This will provide evidence that could be useful for policy and programme reviews for improving access and use of services in to meet the SRH needs of adolescents.
A qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted in Ebonyi state, Southeast, Nigeria. Data were analysed using thematic framework and content analysis approaches.
This qualitative study was conducted in six selected local government areas in Ebonyi state, Nigeria. The study participants comprised of adult stakeholders including community leaders, adolescent boys and girls aged 13-18 years. Adolescents were purposively selected from schools, skill acquisition centres and workplaces. A total of 77 in-depth interviews, 6 (with community leaders) and 12 (with adolescents) focus group discussions were conducted using pretested question guides.
Adolescent SRH needs were perceived to be unique and special due to their vulnerability, fragility and predisposition to explore new experiences. Recurring adolescent SRH needs were: SRH education and counselling; access to contraceptive services and information. These needs were perceived to vary based on sex, schooling and marital status. Adolescent girls were perceived to have more psychological needs, and more prone to negative health outcomes. Out-of-school adolescents were described as more vulnerable, less controlled, less supervised and more prone to sexual abuse. Unmarried adolescents were perceived more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and risks, while married were perceived to have more maternal health service needs.
Perceptions of adolescents' SRH needs converge among stakeholders (including adolescents) and are thought to vary by gender, schooling and marital status. This calls for well-designed gender-responsive interventions that also take into consideration other social stratifiers and adolescent's perceived SRH intervention strategies.
本研究探讨了成年利益相关者对青少年性与生殖健康（SRH）需求的看法、不同社会分层感知到的需求变化以及青少年为满足这些需求而感知到的干预措施。这将为政策和方案审查提供证据，以改善青少年获得和使用服务的机会，满足他们的 SRH 需求。
本研究在尼日利亚东南部埃邦伊州进行了一项定性的横断面研究。使用主题框架和内容分析方法分析数据。
本定性研究在尼日利亚埃邦伊州的六个选定的地方政府区域进行。研究参与者包括社区领导人和年龄在 13-18 岁的青少年男孩和女孩等成年利益相关者。青少年是从学校、技能获取中心和工作场所有目的地选择的。使用预测试题指南进行了 77 次深入访谈、6 次（与社区领导）和 12 次（与青少年）焦点小组讨论。
由于青少年的脆弱性、脆弱性和探索新体验的倾向，青少年的 SRH 需求被认为是独特和特殊的。青少年 SRH 的反复出现的需求包括：SRH 教育和咨询；获得避孕服务和信息。这些需求被认为因性别、受教育程度和婚姻状况而异。与青少年男孩相比，青少年女孩被认为有更多的心理需求，更容易出现不良健康后果。失学青少年被描述为更脆弱、更不受控制、更不受监督，更容易遭受性虐待。未婚青少年被认为更容易受到性剥削和风险的影响，而已婚青少年则被认为有更多的母婴健康服务需求。
利益相关者（包括青少年）对青少年 SRH 需求的看法趋同，且被认为因性别、受教育程度和婚姻状况而异。这需要制定有针对性的性别响应干预措施，同时考虑到其他社会分层和青少年感知到的 SRH 干预策略。
