Groenewald Candice, Isaacs Nazeema, Isaacs Dane
Centre for Community-Based Research, Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa.
Psychology Department, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
Front Reprod Health. 2022 Mar 30;4:794477. doi: 10.3389/frph.2022.794477. eCollection 2022.
This mini review explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. We conducted a rapid review of the literature across three databases, with a particular focus on the African continent. Few studies have specifically focused on adolescents in Africa and this paper contributes to this paucity of research. Findings revealed the unintended consequences of the pandemic. Studies across several countries showed that the respective lockdown measures restricted adolescents' access to sexual and reproductive health services. The literature also showed increases in adolescent pregnancies during the lockdown, along with increases in reports of sexual violence against adolescents. We conclude this paper by offering recommendations to address these unintended consequences and potentially improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health in African communities.
本综述探讨了新冠疫情对青少年性健康和生殖健康的影响。我们对三个数据库中的文献进行了快速综述，特别关注非洲大陆。很少有研究专门针对非洲的青少年，本文有助于填补这一研究空白。研究结果揭示了疫情带来的意外后果。多个国家的研究表明，各自的封锁措施限制了青少年获得性健康和生殖健康服务的机会。文献还显示，封锁期间青少年怀孕率上升，同时针对青少年的性暴力报告也有所增加。我们在本文结尾提出了一些建议，以应对这些意外后果，并有可能改善非洲社区青少年的性健康和生殖健康。
