School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
PLoS One. 2024 Jul 26;19(7):e0301248. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301248. eCollection 2024.
The escalating number of teenage pregnancies, especially in the Eastern province of Rwanda, continues to raise concerns regarding the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in the country. Recent statistics indicate that 5% of adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have given birth and 4% are currently pregnant with their first child. This highlights the critical need for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education tailored for adolescents. However, there is limited evidence on factors affecting adolescents' efforts to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections in the Eastern Province of Rwanda, and the support systems available to adolescents in secondary schools, including the role of parents in promoting their sexual and reproductive health to minimize the risky sexual practices.
An explorative qualitative study utilizing focus group discussions was conducted to garner the perspectives of 118 adolescents enrolled in six twelve-year-basic-education schools from three districts of the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to the impact of various factors on adolescents' sexual and reproductive health as they navigate through the physical and emotional changes from puberty to adolescence.
Adolescents are aware of the potential consequences of engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse which include the risk of unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, and emotional distress. Female participants emphasized that young girls who do not receive adequate support upon becoming pregnant prematurely may encounter depression, discontinue their education, face the harsh reality of extreme poverty, and struggle significantly in assuming the responsibilities of parenthood as young single mothers. Adolescents highlighted the lack of parental guidance concerning sexual and reproductive matters as a significant obstacle in their pursuit of a healthy and safe sexual and reproductive health during adolescence.
Inadequate parental engagement still hinders adolescents in navigating the physical bodily, mental, and emotional changes during adolescence. This affects their capacity to make well-informed decisions to prevent adverse consequences such as unintended pregnancies, substance misuse, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV/AIDS resulting from unsafe sexual practices. Since this study was qualitative, quantitative data necessary for a precise evaluation of the extent of the problem related to the absence of parental involvement in educating adolescents on sexual and reproductive health needs further research.
卢旺达东部地区青少年怀孕人数不断增加，这令人担忧该国青少年的性健康和生殖健康。最近的统计数据显示，15 至 19 岁的少女中有 5%已经生育，4%目前怀有第一胎。这突出表明，需要为青少年提供全面的性健康和生殖健康教育。然而，在卢旺达东部省，关于影响青少年努力预防意外怀孕和性传播感染的因素以及中学为青少年提供的支持系统，包括父母在促进其性健康和生殖健康以尽量减少危险性行为方面的作用，证据有限。
本研究采用探索性定性研究，利用焦点小组讨论，收集了来自卢旺达东部三省六所 12 年制基础教育学校的 118 名青少年的观点。采用主题分析方法，确定了与青春期身体和情感变化过程中各种因素对青少年性健康和生殖健康影响相关的主题。
青少年意识到进行无保护性行为的潜在后果，包括意外怀孕、性传播感染、艾滋病毒/艾滋病和情绪困扰的风险。女性参与者强调，那些没有得到充分支持的早孕少女可能会感到抑郁，辍学，面临极度贫困的残酷现实，并在作为年轻单身母亲承担育儿责任时遇到巨大困难。青少年强调，父母在性和生殖方面缺乏指导，是他们在青春期追求健康和安全的性健康和生殖健康的一个重要障碍。
父母参与不足仍然阻碍了青少年在青春期期间应对身体、心理和情感变化。这影响了他们做出明智决定的能力，以防止意外怀孕、药物滥用、性传播感染和艾滋病毒/艾滋病等不良后果，这些后果源于不安全的性行为。由于本研究是定性的，因此需要进一步研究定量数据，以精确评估与父母不参与教育青少年性健康和生殖健康相关的问题的程度。
