Dismantling Inequities in Adolescent and Young Adult Health through a Sexual and Reproductive Health Justice Approach

Adolescent Sexual Behavior in Rural Central India: Challenges and Interventions

Adolescence is a crucial life stage marked by significant physical, psychological, and societal changes. With India projected to have the highest population of teenagers by 2025, understanding adolescent sexual behavior in rural central India is essential due to its unique social and cultural contexts. This article reviews existing literature to explore the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of teenage sexual behavior in rural central India. It highlights the challenges posed by societal taboos, limited access to sexual health information and services, and the impact of poverty on adolescents' sexual behavior and health outcomes. To address these issues, comprehensive sex education, improved access to contraception and reproductive health services, and efforts to overcome cultural and societal norms are crucial. The article discusses the initiatives undertaken by the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to tackle adolescent sexual behavior and emphasizes the need for a multifaceted approach that addresses systemic issues while empowering adolescents. It concludes by suggesting future research directions and policy recommendations aimed at promoting safe sexual behavior among rural adolescents in central India. This article will discuss the complexity of adolescent sexual behavior in rural central India, its origins, and the challenges faced by medical decision-makers.

Exploring and Monitoring Privacy, Confidentiality, and Provider Bias in Sexual and Reproductive Health Service Provision to Young People: A Narrative Review

Purpose: Poor privacy and confidentiality practices and provider bias are believed to compromise adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health service quality. The results of focus group discussions with global youth leaders and sexual and reproductive health implementing organizations indicated that poor privacy and confidentiality practices and provider bias serve as key barriers to care access for the youth. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to describe how poor privacy and confidentiality practices and provider bias impose barriers on young people seeking sexual and reproductive health services and to examine how point of service evaluations have assessed these factors. Results: 4544 peer-reviewed publications were screened, of which 95 met the inclusion criteria. To these articles, another 16 grey literature documents were included, resulting in a total of 111 documents included in the review. Conclusion: Poor privacy and confidentiality practices and provider bias represent significant barriers for young people seeking sexual and reproductive health services across diverse geographic and sociocultural contexts. The authors found that present evaluation methods do not appropriately account for the importance of these factors and that new performance improvement indicators are needed.