Sahni Hitesh, Sharma Mukesh, Panda Basant Kumar, Das Emily, Behera Samrendra, Pandey Neelanjana, Kumar Abhishek, Graham Kate, Salas Ian
PSI India, New Delhi, India.
PopulationCouncil Consulting Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, India.
Reprod Health. 2025 Jun 19;22(1):103. doi: 10.1186/s12978-025-02025-x.
Despite the intentional focus of national programs and strategies in last decade, unmarried adolescents and youth (AY) face multiple challenges related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information, and access to health and counseling services. With massive urbanization and growing slum and more focus on married youth, the situation and need of unmarried AY are often overlooked. The present study explores the SRH need of AY to gain a holistic understanding of the SRH landscape in the context of slums of Uttar Pradesh, India.
A formative qualitative study was conducted in the slums of two cities in Uttar Pradesh using qualitative research techniques-in-depth interviews (IDI) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with unmarried adolescents and youths aged 15-24 years. Thematic analysis was guided by principles of grounded theory and narrative inquiry, both inductive and deductive approaches.
The study found limited awareness of SRH issues and often inaccurate knowledge of modern contraceptives among the unmarried youth.Gendered access to SRH information emerged clearly, with boys benefitting from wider peer network, while girls relied on familial networks. Lack of social networks and support, communication gap, and limited reach of health providers have majorly contributed to misinformation and misconceptions. Information through social media and online sources served as a key source of SRH knowledge among adolescents and unmarried youth, but concerns remained about the accuracy and reliability of the information accessed. Structural constraints such as stigma, mobility restrictions, and provider bias further marginalized unmarried youth-especially girls-from accessing reliable SRH services.
The study highlighted demand for SRH knowledge, source of knowledge, major concerns, and opportunities of AY in urban slums. A clear need for multi-faceted strategies targeting sexual health education, adolescent-responsive SRH services, and expanded digital outreach with verified content for this vulnerable populations are identified. However, targeted intervention through system level approaches for AY can be helpful for dispelling myths and providing accurate information.
尽管在过去十年中，国家计划和战略有意聚焦于此，但未婚青少年面临着与性健康和生殖健康（SRH）信息以及获得健康和咨询服务相关的多重挑战。随着大规模城市化以及贫民窟的不断增加，且更多地关注已婚青年，未婚青少年的状况和需求常常被忽视。本研究探讨了未婚青少年的性健康和生殖健康需求，以便在印度北方邦贫民窟的背景下全面了解性健康和生殖健康状况。
在北方邦两个城市的贫民窟开展了一项形成性定性研究，采用定性研究技术——对15至24岁的未婚青少年进行深入访谈（IDI）和焦点小组讨论（FGD）。主题分析以扎根理论和叙事探究的原则为指导，采用归纳和演绎方法。
研究发现，未婚青年对性健康和生殖健康问题的认识有限，对现代避孕方法的了解往往不准确。在获取性健康和生殖健康信息方面存在性别差异，男孩受益于更广泛的同伴网络，而女孩则依赖家庭网络。缺乏社交网络和支持、沟通差距以及医疗服务提供者的覆盖范围有限，在很大程度上导致了错误信息和误解的产生。通过社交媒体和在线资源获取的信息是青少年和未婚青年性健康和生殖健康知识的主要来源，但人们对所获取信息的准确性和可靠性仍存在担忧。诸如耻辱感、行动限制和提供者偏见等结构性限制进一步将未婚青年——尤其是女孩——边缘化，使她们难以获得可靠的性健康和生殖健康服务。
该研究突出了城市贫民窟未婚青少年对性健康和生殖健康知识的需求、知识来源、主要关切以及机会。明确需要针对这一弱势群体制定多方面战略，包括性健康教育、适合青少年的性健康和生殖健康服务，以及通过经过核实的内容扩大数字宣传。然而，通过系统层面的方法对未婚青少年进行有针对性的干预，有助于消除误解并提供准确信息。
