This research, carried out in 1999 by the national family planning association (ABBEF), solicited critical youth perspectives for the development, design and organization of health services that address the reproductive health needs of youth in an underserved area of Northern Burkina Faso. An individual questionnaire was carried out with 360 randomly selected youth between 10-24 years of age and qualitative information was gathered from focus group discussions. Findings will also be presented from a second phase of interviews with parents and service providers.
Preliminary findings indicate that early sexual activity is prevalent, as 50% of the youth had had their first sexual experience between the ages of 15 and 17; and 15% of youth had their first sexual activity between the ages of 10 and 14. Unintended pregnancy was cited as the greatest concern among 51% of youth. Other sexual and reproductive health problems were cited such as STD/HIV/AIDS and harmful traditional practices such as early marriage and excision. The findings also indicate that psycho-social issues, such as drug addiction, violence and alcoholism are becoming more prevalent among rural youth. Initial second phase research analysis indicates that while both youth and adults agreed on the principal problems of youth, the proposed solutions sometimes differed. The discussion will finally address how these findings will be applied to the development and evaluation of youth reproductive health services in the study area to be provided by an existing ABBEF clinic.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to: 1) describe the reproductive health knowledge, attitudes and practices of adolescents in an underserved area of Northern Burkina Faso based upon the perspectives of adolescents, parents and service providers. 2) Describe and compare the perspectives of adolescents, parents and service providers concerning the reproductive health needs of youth in this study area 3) Identify strategies to improve adolescent reproductive health information and services by involving adolescents, parents and service providers in both community-based and facility-based approaches
Keywords: Adolescents, International, Reproductive Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.