Sidamo Negussie Boti, Abebe Kerbo Amene, Gidebo Kassa Daka, Wado Yohannes Dibaba
School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia.
School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
Front Reprod Health. 2024 Jul 3;6:1356969. doi: 10.3389/frph.2024.1356969. eCollection 2024.
Adolescents face unique challenges related to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH), with access to timely services being critical for positive outcomes. However, SRH service utilization among adolescents remains low. This study aimed to identify factors influencing SRH service use among adolescents in Gamo Zone, Ethiopia.
A community-based cross-sectional study involved 1172 adolescents selected through stratified sampling. Structured face-to-face interviews were employed for data collection. Multilevel mixed logistic regression was fitted to identify factors and latent class analysis was conducted to understand population heterogeneity.
The findings of this study reveal that 198 (16.89%) adolescents (95% CI: 14.8%-19.2%) utilized SRH services within the past 12 months. Factors significantly associated with SRH service utilization included good knowledge about SRH rights (AOR = 4.65; 95% CI: 2.68, 8.07), belonging to one-parent families (AOR = 4.13; 95% CI: 2.39, 7.12), engaging in parental discussions regarding SRH issues (AOR = 3.17; 95% CI: 1.89, 5.29), high family support (AOR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.09, 3.51), and enrolling in school (AOR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.33). Additionally, access to social media was associated with increased SRH service utilization among adolescents (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.25, 3.15). Latent class analysis identified four groups: rural school-enrolled adolescents living with parents, urban school-enrolled adolescents with both parents, urban disadvantaged female adolescents, and early adolescents with limited social media access.
In conclusion, our study sheds light on the utilization of SRH services among adolescents, revealing that 16.89% of the participants accessed these services within the past year. Significant factors associated with SRH service utilization included good knowledge about SRH rights, belonging to one-parent families, engaging in parental discussions regarding SRH issues, high family support, and enrollment in school. Interestingly, access to social media was also linked to increased utilization of SRH services among adolescents. Furthermore, our latent class analysis identified four distinct classes of adolescents based on socio-demographic indicators, highlighting the heterogeneity within this population. These findings underscore the importance of tailored interventions and targeted approaches to address the diverse needs of adolescents in accessing and utilizing SRH services.
青少年在性与生殖健康（SRH）方面面临独特挑战，获得及时服务对取得积极成果至关重要。然而，青少年中SRH服务的利用率仍然很低。本研究旨在确定影响埃塞俄比亚加莫地区青少年SRH服务使用的因素。
一项基于社区的横断面研究涉及通过分层抽样选取的1172名青少年。采用结构化面对面访谈收集数据。采用多水平混合逻辑回归来确定影响因素，并进行潜在类别分析以了解人群异质性。
本研究结果显示，在过去12个月内，198名（16.89%）青少年（95%可信区间：14.8%-19.2%）使用了SRH服务。与SRH服务利用显著相关的因素包括对SRH权利有充分了解（调整后比值比[AOR]=4.65；95%可信区间：2.68，8.07）、属于单亲家庭（AOR=4.13；9可信区间：2.39，7.12）、与父母讨论SRH问题（AOR=3.17；95%可信区间：1.89，5.）、家庭支持度高（AOR=1.96；95%可信区间：1.09，3.51）以及入学（AOR=0.19；95%可信区间：0.11，0.33）。此外，使用社交媒体与青少年中SRH服务利用率的提高相关（AOR=1.98；95%可信区间：1.25，3.15）。潜在类别分析确定了四类人群：与父母同住的农村在校青少年、父母双全的城市在校青少年、城市弱势女性青少年以及社交媒体使用受限的早期青少年。
总之，我们的研究揭示了青少年中SRH服务的使用情况，表明16.89%的参与者在过去一年中使用了这些服务。与SRH服务利用相关的重要因素包括对SRH权利有充分了解、属于单亲家庭、与父母讨论SRH问题、家庭支持度高以及入学。有趣的是，使用社交媒体也与青少年中SRH服务利用率的提高有关。此外，我们的潜在类别分析根据社会人口学指标确定了四类不同的青少年，突出了该人群内部的异质性。这些发现强调了采取针对性干预措施和有针对性方法的重要性，以满足青少年在获取和利用SRH服务方面的多样化需求。
