Maina Beatrice W, Nyakangi Vivian, Mbuthia Michelle, Kabiru Caroline W
African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
UNICEF Kenya Country Office, Nairobi, Kenya.
Reprod Health. 2025 May 31;22(Suppl 1):73. doi: 10.1186/s12978-025-01984-5.
Radio programs have been used to broadcast health information across Africa and beyond. However, there has been limited focus on radio programming targeting young adolescents (aged 10 - 14) with gender and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information. An increasing body of evidence indicates a need to provide young individuals with accurate and easily accessible gender and SRH information to equip them to make well-informed choices about their SRH.
We developed an engaging and educative seven-session radio show, which featured skits and guest speakers. A local radio station in Kenya broadcasted the show as a weekly episode over seven consecutive weeks. The main objective of the show was to improve young adolescents' SRH knowledge, foster equitable gender norms, and enhance parent-adolescent relationships. To gauge perceptions about the radio program, we conducted in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of 17 parents and 20 adolescents aged 12-14 years living in an informal settlement in Nairobi and who had participated in (or listened in on) at least three of the sessions; the radio manager and program presenter.
Both parents and adolescents indicated that they felt more connected to each other after listening to the program and this enhanced communication, especially on SRH issues. Resulting from the radio program, both adolescents and parents expressed greater awareness of gender and adolescent SRH issues, which were rarely discussed in detail in open forums in their context prior to the radio program. They recommended that such radio programs run regularly as they provide a platform where sensitive issues about adolescent health can be shared and discussed openly, allowing for both adolescent and community participation.
Radio programming was perceived as a good platform for knowledge transfer and discussions about gender norms and SRH among young adolescents. However, messages should be designed to resonate with a diverse audience, as radio listenership will not only be limited to the target population.
广播节目已被用于在非洲及其他地区传播健康信息。然而，针对10至14岁青少年的、包含性别与性健康和生殖健康（SRH）信息的广播节目却很少受到关注。越来越多的证据表明，有必要为年轻人提供准确且易于获取的性别与SRH信息，使他们能够就自身的SRH做出明智的选择。
我们制作了一档引人入胜且富有教育意义的七集广播节目，其中包含短剧和嘉宾演讲。肯尼亚的一家当地广播电台连续七周每周播出一集该节目。该节目的主要目标是提高青少年的SRH知识，树立公平的性别规范，并加强亲子关系。为了评估对该广播节目的看法，我们对居住在内罗毕一个非正式定居点、年龄在12至14岁、至少收听了三集节目的17名家长和20名青少年进行了有目的抽样的深入访谈；还采访了电台经理和节目主持人。
家长和青少年都表示，收听该节目后他们感觉彼此之间的联系更紧密了，这加强了沟通，尤其是在SRH问题上。由于收听了该广播节目，青少年和家长都对性别和青少年SRH问题有了更高的认识，而在该广播节目之前，这些问题在他们当地的公开论坛中很少被详细讨论。他们建议定期播放此类广播节目，因为它们提供了一个平台，在这个平台上可以公开分享和讨论有关青少年健康的敏感问题，促进青少年和社区的参与。
广播节目被认为是在青少年中传播关于性别规范和SRH知识及进行相关讨论的良好平台。然而，信息的设计应能引起不同受众的共鸣，因为广播听众不仅限于目标人群。
