 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ubaidur Rob, Ph D1, Ismat Bhuiya, MSc MPH1, and Laila Rahman, MCom2. (1) Population Council, House # CES (B) 21, Road # 118, Gulshan, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh, 880 2 882-3334, urob@pcdhaka.org, (2) Bangladesh Country Office, Population Council, House # CES (B) 21, Road # 118, Gulshan, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
In Bangladesh parents play an important role in the lives of young people. Strategic involvement of parents is critical to building a supportive environment for adolescent reproductive health programs. This article investigates parents’ attitude and knowledge about adolescent reproductive health issues in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 1578 parents in urban areas. Although two-third of the parents were practicing family planning methods, their knowledge about STIs was quite low, only one-third parents knew about the STDs and ways to protect themselves. Approximately 28 percent parents indicated they had discussed reproductive and sexual health issues with their children. However, over 65 percent parents expressed their lack of knowledge about adolescent reproductive health issues and wanted to know more about the subject. Large majority of (90 percent) parents are supportive of providing reproductive health (RH) information to adolescents. Furthermore, parents suggested that sexually active adolescents should use condom to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, parents supported later age at marriage, and delayed child bearing. Majority of the parents were in favor of providing RH education in school. Most of the parents knew about STDs but had a poor grasp of transmission routes. Parents did not know where to go for reproductive health care. In fact, parents wanted others such as doctor and clinic staff to provide such information.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Reproductive Health, School-Based Programs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.