TY - JOUR
T1 - Female adolescent sexual reproductive health service utilization concerns
T2 - A qualitative enquiry in the Tema metropolis of Ghana
AU - Agbenu, Innes
AU - Kyei, Josephine
AU - Naab, Florence
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Agbenu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Background Evidence globally indicates that female adolescents face numerous sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risks. Utilization of sexual reproductive health services among adolescents is of global health importance and plays a crucial role in adolescent sexual reproductive health outcomes and their quality of life. Aim The current study explored sexual reproductive health service utilization concerns among female adolescents in the Tema Metropolis in Southern Ghana using the Anderson and Newman Behavioural model of Health Service Utilization as a guiding framework. Methods The study utilized a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Purposive sampling was used to recruit female adolescents. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. In all, 12 interviews were conducted. Each interview lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Thematic analysis was guided by the constructs of the Anderson and Newman Behavioural model of health service utilization. Results Utilization of sexual reproductive health services among female adolescents is low in the Tema metropolis. Factors such as unprotected non-consensual sexual activity or an unwanted pregnancy sometimes triggered the use of these services. Barriers to utilization identified include lack of awareness on sexual reproductive health services, unreliable sources of SRH information, underestimation of the severity of sexual reproductive health problems faced, unmet expectations and poor experiences with service providers. Conclusion The current study identified poor utilization of sexual reproductive health services among female adolescents within the Tema metropolis of Ghana. There is the need to increase the number of adolescent health corners, increase awareness about SRH services among adolescents, improve parent-child SRH communication and provide adequate training for healthcare providers to improve provider attitude towards adolescent SRH service delivery in order to increase utilization of sexual reproductive health services among female adolescents in the Metropolis.
AB - Background Evidence globally indicates that female adolescents face numerous sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risks. Utilization of sexual reproductive health services among adolescents is of global health importance and plays a crucial role in adolescent sexual reproductive health outcomes and their quality of life. Aim The current study explored sexual reproductive health service utilization concerns among female adolescents in the Tema Metropolis in Southern Ghana using the Anderson and Newman Behavioural model of Health Service Utilization as a guiding framework. Methods The study utilized a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Purposive sampling was used to recruit female adolescents. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. In all, 12 interviews were conducted. Each interview lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Thematic analysis was guided by the constructs of the Anderson and Newman Behavioural model of health service utilization. Results Utilization of sexual reproductive health services among female adolescents is low in the Tema metropolis. Factors such as unprotected non-consensual sexual activity or an unwanted pregnancy sometimes triggered the use of these services. Barriers to utilization identified include lack of awareness on sexual reproductive health services, unreliable sources of SRH information, underestimation of the severity of sexual reproductive health problems faced, unmet expectations and poor experiences with service providers. Conclusion The current study identified poor utilization of sexual reproductive health services among female adolescents within the Tema metropolis of Ghana. There is the need to increase the number of adolescent health corners, increase awareness about SRH services among adolescents, improve parent-child SRH communication and provide adequate training for healthcare providers to improve provider attitude towards adolescent SRH service delivery in order to increase utilization of sexual reproductive health services among female adolescents in the Metropolis.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85185790388&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0292103
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0292103
M3 - Article
C2 - 38394260
AN - SCOPUS:85185790388
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 19
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 2 February
M1 - e0292103
ER -