Parent-child communication about sexual and reproductive health: perspectives of Jordanian and Syrian parents

Acceptance of human papillomavirus vaccine among boys in Asia: A narrative review

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection globally, linked to genital warts and various cancers. The burden of HPV-related diseases in males is rising significantly. We reviewed studies published until September 2024 from databases like PubMed, Embase®, and Web of Science, summarizing HPV vaccination acceptance among boys and parents in Asia and exploring influencing factors. Acceptance rates for HPV vaccination among boys ranged from 48.4% to 69.9%, while parental acceptance varied from 10.0% to 91.0%. Recent years have shown a positive trend in acceptance, influenced by perceived risk and benefits, barriers, sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge and awareness of HPV and its vaccine, and social support factors. Targeted educational interventions are crucial for increasing awareness of male-associated HPV diseases and for dispelling misconceptions. The future implementation of gender-neutral vaccination policies may facilitate broader acceptance. Future studies should focus on developing interventions to promote pan-gender HPV vaccination.

Adaptation and psychometric assessment of a sexual and reproductive empowerment scale in Arabic among refugee and non-refugee adolescent girls

BACKGROUND

Sexual and reproductive empowerment (SRE) is an important determinant of women's and girls' health yet measuring it is complex due to cultural and domain-specific variations. This study describes the process of adapting an SRE scale consisting of four domains (self-efficacy; future orientation; social support; and safety) and testing its psychometric properties among Arabic speaking adolescent girls in Lebanon.

METHODS

An SRE scale developed in a Western context was adapted in four steps: (1) reviewing the scale and selecting culturally appropriate domains for translation to standard Arabic; (2) conducting cognitive interviews with 30 11-17-year-old adolescent girls in Lebanon; (3) administering the scale to 339 refugee adolescent girls who participated in an early marriage intervention; and (4) conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the data to assess the scale's psychometric properties.

RESULTS

The original model for the 13-item, four-domain adapted scale demonstrated poor fit in CFA. After iteratively removing two items, scale properties were improved, albeit were not optimal. The validity and reliability results for the self-efficacy domain were acceptable. Cognitive interview data revealed that Arab adolescent girls understood self-efficacy in relational terms, recognizing that autonomous decision-making is not necessarily favored but is influenced by parents and family.

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents an effort to customize an SRE scale for use in studies on the health of adolescent girls in an Arab cultural context. Findings from cognitive interviews highlight the importance of taking into consideration relationality in adolescent sexual and reproductive decision-making. The self-efficacy domain in the adapted scale demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties and is recommended for use in health studies to capture SRE.

Situational context of home-based sexual education in urban slums of Ibadan, Nigeria-evidence from a qualitative study

This study explores the influence of situational context on parent-adolescent communication about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues in the urban slums of Ibadan, Nigeria. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in the Southeast and Northeast LGAs of Ibadan. Eight (8) vignette-based focus group discussions (FGDs) with parents and adolescents of both sexes were conducted in addition to four (4) key informant interviews (KIIs) with community and women's leaders. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was adopted using ATLAS Ti 9 software. Findings portray SRH meanings and experiences, intergenerational cultural norms, and expectations for SRH, gender double standards in SRH discussion, streetwise SRH knowledge, and social media exposure as contexts that interfere with parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues. The findings show that despite understanding the need for SRH discussion, parents and adolescents lack effective communication on SRH issues due to the interference of unfiltered streetwise SRH knowledge and social media exposure. Also, SRH conversation between parents and adolescents promotes gender inequalities as different information is passed to adolescent girls and boys. Interventions that take into account situational occurrences must be geared towards enabling parents to give their adolescents early exposure to relevant, context-specific SRH knowledge.

Exploring Indonesian Primary Schoolgirls' Experiences of School-based HPV Vaccination, Knowledge of HPV Risks and Prevention, and Preferences for Cervical Cancer Education

OBJECTIVE

In 2016, Indonesia introduced its Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination demonstration program for girls in grades 5 and 6 of primary school, to reduce cervical cancer (CC) burden in selected provinces and test the viability of nationwide vaccination. This study explored schoolgirls' experience of school-based HPV vaccination, their knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination, and their preferences for cervical cancer (CC) education.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted with schoolgirls who experienced HPV vaccination between 2019 and 2021 through the demonstration program. Using purposive sampling, respondents were recruited through partnerships with primary public health centres and primary schools in Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Data analysis was conducted using Chi-square test, Independent-samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty primary schoolgirls with a mean age of 12.2 years (SD = 0.70) completed the survey. Schools and mothers were identified as key actors in socialising children about important health information and as girls' preferred sources of information. The average summed score for girls' knowledge of HPV, the HPV vaccine, and CC after being vaccinated was 5.07 out of 10 (SD 0.23). Significant differences in the mean knowledge scores among participants with different preferences regarding CC education in school were observed.

CONCLUSION

While schoolgirls' experiences of HPV vaccination were largely positive, their knowledge of critical health information regarding HPV vaccination and CC prevention needs improving. Thus, it is necessary to provide parents, and school-based educators with culturally appropriate strategies and comprehensive evidence-based information about HPV vaccination and CC prevention more effectively to children.

Predictors of sexual and reproductive health self-care based on demographic factors in adolescent girls

OBJECTIVES

Global access to sexual and reproductive health is an essential human right, especially to adolescent girls. For improvement sexual and reproductive self-care needs to determine the related factors on utilization and acceptance by adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the SRH self-care and its predictors among adolescent girls in Neyshabur city at Northeast of Iran.

METHODS

The present study was a cross-sectional correlational study performed on 265 girl students from 15 girls' high schools in Neyshabour, in Razavi Khorasan province, Northeastern Iran. The sampling method was multistage probability sampling. Data were collected using demographic information and female adolescents' sexual reproductive self-care scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression model. The significant level was p<0.05 using SPSS₁₆.

RESULTS

The results of the present study showed that the mean score of the sexual reproductive health self-care was 61.23 of 100 ± 10.5, it had a significantly relationship with fathers education high school [B=-7.241 CI: (-11.088 to -3.393)], diploma [B=-7.221 CI: -10.707 to -3.735] than academic. The rank of children birth in the family first [B=6.012 CI: (0.931-11.092)] second [B=4.436 CI: (1.437-8.309)] than third and above. Economic status of household Excellent [B=3.159 CI: (2.193-8.511)], Favorable [B=5.866 CI: (1.355-10.378)], relatively favorable [B=2.705 CI: (1.802-7.213)] than poor level economic.

CONCLUSIONS

sexual and reproductive health is associated to father's education, the rank of children birth in the family, and economic status. So these variables will help to strategies and progress educational programs.

Cultural Determinants and Parent-Child Communication as an Effective Tool to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse: A Quick Qualitative Study

The current study's sole specific goal was to use a qualitative approach, from the parents' emic perspective, to investigate the cultural determinants that influence using parent-child communication as an instrument to protect children from sexual abuse in the six electoral wards of Ife-East Local Government that covered the rural settlement of Ile-Ife. The study adopted a simple random sampling method to select a village from each ward and a convenient sampling method to select six parents from each village, making a total sample size of 36. The study utilized in-depth face-to-face interviews to garner the primary data and content analysis for data analysis. This study found and concluded that parents' economic activities, religious beliefs, fear of stigmatization or mockery, belief that giving a child sex education via parent-child communication promotes waywardness in the behavior of such a child, belief that sex education should be best confined to formal education, and overconfidence of the parents in their wards were among the cultural determinants influencing the efficacy of parent-child communication as a device to shield young ones from being victims of sexual abuse in the study location. The study recommended public enlightenment via various social institutions on dealing with these cultural determinants.

Challenges regarding sexual health communication with secondary school learners in Limpopo Province: Parents views

BACKGROUND

A conversation about sexuality is most likely to encourage healthy and positive sexual practices while reducing risky sexual behaviour among adolescents. Traditionally, sexuality is discussed in hushed tones in proverbs and is reserved for adults. On the other hand, adolescents require to be well informed about their sexuality to assist them to make informed decisions about their sexual behaviour.

AIM

The study determined parents' views regarding challenges of sexual health communication among secondary school learners in Limpopo Province.

METHOD

A qualitative, exploratory-descriptive, and contextual approach was employed for the study. Fifty-six parents were purposively select, resulting in five focus group discussions that had 8-12 members. One central question was asked, and based on the participants' responses, probing questions asked followed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Trustworthiness and ethical considerations were ensured.

RESULTS

Three themes, that is communication concerns, role shifting in imparting sexuality education and poor parent-child relationships and eight sub-themes emerged from the data.

CONCLUSION

Study identified that communication concerns influence parent-child dialogue on sexuality education. Therefore, there is a need to address factors hindering communication like cultural barriers, role shifting in imparting sexuality education, poor parent-child relationships. This study suggests that parents be empowered in dealing with children's sexuality.

"If your mother does not teach you, the world will…": a qualitative study of parent-adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health issues in Border districts of eastern Uganda

BACKGROUND

Adolescents experience a host of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges, with detrimental SRH and socio-economic consequences. These include early sexual debut, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, and early childbearing. Parent-adolescent communication about SRH has significant potential to reduce adolescents' risky sexual behaviors. However, communication between parents and adolescents is limited. This study explored the facilitators and barriers to parent-adolescent communication about sexual and reproductive health.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study in the border districts of Busia and Tororo in Eastern Uganda. Data collection entailed 8 Focus Group Discussions comprising of parents, adolescents (10-17 years), and 25 key informants. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was conducted with the aid of NVIVO 12 software.

RESULTS

Participants acknowledged the key role parents play in communicating SRH matters; however, only a few parents engage in such discussions. Facilitators of parent-adolescent communication were: having a good parent-child relationship which makes parents approachable and motivates children to discuss issues openly, a closer bond between mothers and children which is partly attributed to gender roles and expectations eases communication, and having parents with high education making them more knowledgeable and confident when discussing SRH issues with children. However, the discussions are limited by cultural norms that treat parent-child conversations on SRH as a taboo, parents' lack of knowledge, and parents busy work schedules made them unavailable to address pertinent SRH issues.

CONCLUSION

Parents' ability to communicate with their children is hindered by cultural barriers, busy work schedules, and a lack of knowledge. Engaging all stakeholders including parents to deconstruct sociocultural norms around adolescent SRH, developing the capacity of parents to confidently initiate and convey accurate SRH information, initiation of SRH discussions at early ages, and integrating parent-adolescent communication into parenting interventions, are potential strategies to improve SRH communication between parents and adolescents in high-risk settings such as borders.

Interactive community-based theatre to address social barriers to accessing reproductive health services in patriarchal societies: the case of Jordan

Interactive community-based theatre is used to engage with audience members and allow for free exchange of ideas relevant to context. It aims to bring about a new understanding of an issue while challenging people's attitudes and perceptions. Its application within the field of sexual and reproductive health has been limited, particularly in low and middle-income contexts. This paper presents the rationale for a research-arts partnership in Jordan and describes the process and some lessons learned from the development and country-wide performances of a research-informed interactive play. The play, Mish 'Ayb (Not a Shame) was designed to address social barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive services in a patriarchal society. The sensitive portrayal by Jordanian actors of real-life scenarios pertaining to specific health issues encouraged identification of the audience with the actors, thereby building trust. This process helped to uncover cultural norms that facilitate and impede people's access to health services and information. Qualitative research designs that incorporate interactive theatre present a strong potential avenue to explore sensitive topics related to sexuality, particularly in patriarchal contexts.

U.S. Parents Underestimate Their Children's Pornography Use and Learning

Research on parental knowledge and positive adolescent adjustment suggests that more accurate levels of the former increase the likelihood of the latter. Despite a significant body of literature correlating adolescent pornography use with negative adolescent adjustment, however, only a handful of studies have compared parents' beliefs about their children's pornography use with adolescents' reports and just a few of these have been carried out in the U.S. The present study employed national probability data gathered from 614 parent-adolescent dyads in the U.S. as a further step toward bolstering this important area of parent-child research. Parents were 44.78 years old on average (SD = 7.76). Mothers comprised 55.80% of parents (fathers were 44.20%). Children were 15.97 years old on average (SD = 1.38). Daughters comprised 50.20% of children (sons were 49.80%). Boys were more likely to report pornography use and learning across a range of pornography genres and sexual domains. Parents accurately estimated the direction of many of these gender differences, but still consistently underestimated both sons' and daughters' exposure to and socialization from pornography. Interestingly, although parents were more likely to believe that sons than daughters had viewed and learned from pornography, their degree of underestimation was larger for sons. Mothers' and fathers' beliefs were consistently indistinguishable at the main effect level and interacted with child gender in only one instance. Results are discussed in relation to the moral panic and risk underestimation perspectives on youth and media effects.

Sexual and reproductive health knowledge among adolescent Syrian refugee girls displaced in Lebanon: The role of schooling and parental communication

Adolescent Syrian refugee girls living in Lebanon are vulnerable to poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Sociocultural norms, stigmatization, and limited educational opportunities in the context of forced displacement may impact adolescent girls' SRH. Little is known about how and where girls in this population access SRH information and services. This study aimed to: (1) assess knowledge of SRH topics among a population of adolescent Syrian refugee girls displaced in Lebanon, and (2) determine the association of schooling versus maternal SRH communication with SRH knowledge. A total of 418 11-17-year-old Syrian refugee girls displaced in the Beqaa region of Lebanon were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Bivariate logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression models were used to examine the associations between schooling, maternal SRH communication, and other covariates with SRH knowledge outcomes. Significant predictors (p<0.2) were included in multivariate analyses. The mean age of girls was 13.4 years. Approximately two thirds of our sample was enrolled in school, with enrollment rates dropping considerably around age 15. In bivariate and multivariate models, older age and participation in SRH programs were predictive of puberty knowledge. One in five girls enrolled in school had learned about menstruation in school, which was associated with higher puberty knowledge in bivariate models. Older age, current school enrollment, and reaching the 8th-11th grade were strongly associated with HIV knowledge. Schooling is more strongly associated with SRH knowledge among adolescent girls than is maternal communication. School-based SRH curricula should be administered on the basis of age and not grade, given significant age-for-grade heterogeneity in this population. Forced displacement and poverty are major barriers to education retention and may have long-term impacts on girls' health.

Attitudes of parents in the role of a father in Turkey toward child sex education and their sexual communication with their children

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of parents in the role of a father in Turkey toward child sex education and their sexual communication with their children.

METHODS

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with the fathers of children in the pediatric outpatient clinic at a state hospital between December 30, 2021, and April 15, 2022. The study was reported based on STROBE. The data were collected from 297 fathers using the Descriptive Information Form, the Attitudes Scale Toward Sex education (ASTSE), and the Sexual Communication Scale for Parents(SCSP).

RESULTS

Sample statistics demonstrate that 67.7% of the participants did not receive sex education in their childhood, and 57.4% stated that their children received sex education only from their mothers. Higher attitudes toward sexual education were found in the fathers with a university or higher education degree (χ² = 15.396; p < 0.01), and those giving sex education to their children (χ² = 18.388;p < 0.001). Higher total scores were obtained on the sexual communication scale by fathers with university and higher education degrees (χ² = 12.898;p < 0.01) and those who received sex education in their childhood (t = 2.330;p = 0.021). There is a highly significant positive correlation between the mean scores of the role of a parent subscale of the ASTSE and the mean total score of the SCSP (r = 0.81;p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a positive correlation between fathers' parental role attitudes toward sex education and their sexual communication with their children.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Supporting fathers' sexual communication with their children can positively affect fathers' attitudes and communication toward sex education.

Mother-daughter communication about puberty in Egypt

Parental communication during puberty can be a protective factor for adolescents. In Egypt, girls have poor access to sexual and reproductive health services and there is a lack of information on puberty in school curricula. Yet little is known about girls' other sources of information about puberty, including communication with mothers. We analysed 29 in-depth interviews with young mothers of girls in Greater Cairo to better understand mother-daughter communication about puberty. We examine respondents' motivations for communication with their daughters, the type of messages they provided or expected to provide, and barriers to mother-daughter communication, paying particular attention to intergenerational dynamics with respect to how women learn about puberty. We found that while mothers wanted to, and did, play a primary role in communicating with girls about puberty, discussions were constrained by lack of information and embarrassment. Mothers were more open to discussing some aspects of puberty, such as hygiene, than others. Conversations may also be delayed due to social norms about what is appropriate for girls to know and when. Messages were often fear-based and embedded in norms that stigmatised girls' sexuality. Programmes and interventions targeting mothers' knowledge and communication skills around puberty should be adapted and tested in the context of Egypt.

Developing a sexual and reproductive health educational intervention for adolescent Syrian refugee girls: Challenges and lessons learned

In Lebanon, a country with the highest per capita refugee population in the world, roughly one in four persons is forcibly displaced. Early marriage is highly prevalent among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and qualitative studies suggest an unmet need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services in this community. Adolescent Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon are a vulnerable population at risk of negative SRH outcomes related to early sexual debut, which occurs primarily in the context of early marriage. Despite this need, cultural norms and gender roles generally restrict adolescent girls' access to SRH resources. To address this need for comprehensive sexuality education, our team developed a novel, rights-based, peer-led, adolescent SRH educational curriculum that is specific to the context of Syrian displacement in Lebanon. This curriculum was developed to be administered as part of Project Amenah, a community-based, multi-component intervention that aims to reduce early marriage and improve SRH among adolescent Syrian refugee girls displaced in Lebanon. The curriculum, which features eight discreet age-appropriate units, is based on extensive formative work conducted in this community, as well as adaptations of early marriage programs implemented in low-resource settings elsewhere. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, gender and human rights, communication, negotiation and decision-making, reproductive anatomy, puberty and menstruation, sexually transmitted infections, family planning and modern contraception, and adolescent pregnancy. We encountered several challenges when developing this curriculum, including those related to community acceptability, varying levels of literacy levels among participants, and limited engagement with married adolescents, who may experience mobility restrictions that preclude their participation. We recommend that investigators developing adolescent SRH interventions in similar settings utilize a behavior-determinant-intervention logic model to guide their study design, elucidate community priorities and capacity by conducting preliminary qualitative work and assembling a community advisory board, and follow a peer-led model, which has shown to be effective for adolescent SRH interventions.

Sex education for adolescents: Indonesian nurse educators’ experience as parents

Objectives

Sex education toward adolescent remains the most controversial subject due to the various thoughts and ideas of different values present in society. Nurse educators as parents must exemplify sex education to their children. The aim of this present study was to explore parents’ experience, with nurse educators background to be exact, on how they convey sex education to their children.

Methods

This study is a descriptive qualitative study, and the sample is recruited by using the purposive sampling technique. The qualified participants filled in the informed consent, provided demographic data, and were interviewed. Saturation data were obtained at the 6th interview in this study. The interview is transcribed to find themes and subthemes using conventional content analysis.

Results

We derived 3 main themes: parents’ approach, sex education topic, and children's reaction. Parents’ approach contained 4 subthemes, namely, gender match, parent–child closeness, media, and attitude. Sex education topic included 5 subthemes of bodily autonomy, health and safety, reproductive anatomy, puberty-related changes, and how to maintain healthiness. Children's reaction experiences also included 4 subthemes of uncomfortable, questioning, acknowledging, and laughing.

Conclusions

As a matter of fact, some parents in eastern countries, such as Indonesia, conveyed sex education to their children. Children might have various reactions to that topic, but it is important to keep them safe, especially in reproductive health, regardless of the culture or tradition. Based on nurse educators as exemplifiers, nurses and nursing students might acquire the picture in conveying sex education to adolescents.

Exploring Female EFL Teachers' Professional Agency for Their Sustainable Career Development in China: A Self-Discrepancy Theory Perspective

A large and growing body of literature has investigated the role of teachers' agency in their career trajectories. However, far too little attention has been paid to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers', especially female EFL teachers', professional agency for their career development in the Chinese higher education setting. To address this gap, this study explores female EFL teachers' professional agency from a self-discrepancy theory perspective, namely, how the participating teachers have perceived discrepancies in their professional development and how they have enacted their professional agency to realize sustainable development. Based on a metaphor investigation of 167 teachers and interviews with nine of them, the current study found that (1) there are certain discrepancies between female EFL teachers' self-guides and actual selves concerning their professional identity construction; (2) female EFL teachers' professional agency is manifested in the continuum of iteration, practical evaluation, and projectivity processes, as well as in the entity of personal and environmental factors; and 3) female EFL teachers' professional agency and gender identity are closely intertwined with each other. This study can offer implications for teacher agency research and female teachers' sustainable development at large.

Determinants of communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents in the Adaklu district of the Volta region, Ghana: a multinomial logistic regression analysis

BACKGROUND

Poor communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents results in high rates of negative sexual practices such as teenage pregnancy. Contributing factors to this poor communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents in a high teenage pregnancy setting have not been adequately explored. We sought to fill this gap by examining the factors that predict communication on sexual issues between adolescents and their parents in the Adaklu district of the Volta region of Ghana.

METHODS

A baseline cross-sectional household survey of 221 adolescents aged 10-19 years in 30 randomly selected communities was used. A well-structured questionnaire was developed. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors that significantly influenced communication between adolescents and their parents regarding sex.

RESULTS

Only 11.3% of adolescents had discussions on sexual issues with both parents while 27.6% of communicated sexual issues with only one parent in Adaklu district. Adolescent males (AOR = 0.21, CI = 0.06-0.75), those aged 10-14 years (AOR = 0.41, CI = 0.04-0.57), non-members of adolescent health clubs (AOR = 0.46, CI = 0.21-1.00), and those living with only a father (AOR = 0.19, CI = 0.06-0.61) had lower odds of communicating with their parents on sexual issues.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent-parental communication on sexual issues in Adaklu district is very low. This situation requires more empowerment of adolescents to enable them to discuss sexual issues with their parents through increased engagement with adolescent health club activities and capacity building capacity of parents with the right information on sexual and reproductive health by health staff within the district. Additionally, parents need to be equipped with communication skills to enable them to communicate effectively with their children.

Healthcare practitioners experiences in delivering sexual and reproductive health services to unmarried adolescent clients in Jordan: results from a cross-sectional survey

Background

The need for youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services has been identified as a national policy priority in Jordan, but there remains limited data on service utilization among adolescents, especially those who are unmarried, and there is limited training for healthcare practitioners (HCPs) in providing SRH services to youth. The objectives of this study are to 1) describe the most common reasons for encounters that HCPs have with unmarried youth clients about SRH topics and 2) explore differences in SRH services provided to unmarried youth by provider in Jordan.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used a two-stage cluster-randomized sampling scheme to sample HCPs (doctors, nurses, and midwives) from health facilities in four governorates in Jordan. Data were collected on practitioner demographics, facility characteristics, and self-reports of having provided services related to nine common SRH concerns to unmarried girls or boys between the ages of 15–19 years. Chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the associations between provider and facility characteristics, client sex, and types of services rendered.

Results

In total, 578 providers participated in the study (110 male and 468 female). Practitioners most commonly reported seeing unmarried female youth for concerns related to puberty (38.5%) and family planning (18.51%) and unmarried male youth for concerns of puberty (22.49%) or condoms (11.59%). In total, 64.45, 64.61 and 71.19% of midwives, nurses, and doctors reported having provided any SRH service to an unmarried adolescent. While practitioners most often reported seeing clients of the same sex, male practitioners were more likely to report having seen a female client for STIs (9.09% vs. 4.27% p = 0.040), and providing general information about sexual activity (12.73% vs. 5.77% p = 0.011) than female providers.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that a substantial proportion of HCPs have provided SRH services to unmarried youth – challenging existing perceptions of the SRH care-seeking practices of unmarried youth in this conservative context.

Professional Support After Partner Loss: Likelihood and Correlates of Help-Seeking Behavior

Intimate partner loss in later life can be one of the most stressful events in adulthood. Individuals who struggle to adapt to the new life conditions may need support from a mental health professional. However, less is known about the likelihood to seek professional help after separation, divorce, or bereavement in later life and associated factors. This study investigated professional help-seeking (PHS) for partner loss after a long-term marriage in separated, divorced, and bereaved individuals and examined the extent to which specific person and event-related variables, as well as depressive symptoms, increase its likelihood. The data were derived from the LIVES "Intimate Partner Loss Study." The self-administered questionnaires were completed by 388 adults. PHS was higher after separation (57%) and divorce (49%), compared to widowhood (18%). Higher likelihood of PHS was associated with separation and divorce, female gender, having someone to count on, loss unexpectedness, needing more time to overcome the loss, and more depressive symptoms. Informing individuals unlikely to seek help (e.g., males, bereaved, and individuals with no confidant) about PHS benefits may facilitate adaptation to partner loss.

Narratives on Sex and Contraception From Pregnant Adolescent Women in a Northern Province in Thailand: A Phenomenological Study

Gaps in understanding, a lack of awareness of contraceptive use and a lack of control, related to gender dynamics, may influence the demand for contraception among adolescents and their decision-making around pregnancy prevention. This study explored the experiences of pregnant adolescents at the time of pregnancy and prior to becoming pregnant, examining attitudes toward sex and contraception. An interpretive phenomenological study guided by Heideggerian philosophy, analysed data from 30 in-depth interviews conducted with purposively selected consenting pregnant adolescents aged 15–19. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and were analysed using a modified interpretative phenomenological approach. Participants exposed 5 key findings or experiences associated with sex and contraception: ‘Premarital cohabitation and sex’, ‘Staying in the relationship’, ‘Unforeseen future’, ‘Parental conformity’, and ‘Male command’. These findings can have far-reaching implications for the holistic understanding of the needs of adolescents in Thailand. They can be used to inform the development of appropriate and responsive interventions to support female and male adolescents, their families, and society. This includes interventions around reproductive health rights and sex education from health care providers, educators providing counselling to facilitate adolescents’ decision-making in order to reduce unintended adolescent pregnancy.