Parent's Perception regarding the Delivery of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Education in Secondary Schools in Fiji: A Qualitative Study

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.

Barriers and enablers to young people accessing sexual and reproductive health services in Pacific Island Countries and Territories: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

The number of young people utilising sexual and reproductive health services in Pacific Island Countries and Territories remains poor despite the availability and the existence of the fundamental rights to access these services. Adolescents and youth need accurate information and timely access to contraceptives to prevent adverse consequences associated with unintended pregnancies, abortion, childbirth and untreated sexually transmitted infections. This scoping review identifies and analyses factors contributing to young people's low access to sexual and reproductive health information and services in this region.

METHODS

Guided by the PRISMA Scoping review guidelines, we searched three databases (Medline Ovid, Scopus and CINAHL Complete) for peer-reviewed articles published between 1st January 2000 and 31st August 2020 that reported on factors, including barriers and enablers, affecting access to sexual and reproductive health information and services by young people living in Pacific Island Countries and Territories. We assessed the quality of each study according to the study designs, methods of data collection, data analysis and ethical considerations. All information was sorted and organised using an Excel Spreadsheet. Text data from published articles were charted inductively using thematic analysis with no predetermined codes and themes.

FINDINGS

Five hundred eighty-nine articles were screened, and only eight met the inclusion criteria outlined in this scoping review protocol. These eight articles reported studies conducted in four Pacific Island Countries and Territories: Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. Factors such as lack of accurate sexual and reproductive health knowledge and social stigma were the leading causes of young people's limited access to sexual and reproductive health services. Cultural and religious beliefs also invoked stigmatising behaviours in some family and community members.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review revealed that social stigma and judgemental attitudes imposed by family and community members, including healthcare providers, hinder young unmarried individuals in Pacific Island Countries and Territories from accessing sexual and reproductive health information and contraceptives. Alternatively, a non-judgmental healthcare provider is perceived as an enabler in accessing sexual and reproductive health information and services. Moreover, given that only a few studies have actually focused on young people's sexual and reproductive health needs in the region, more research is required to fully understand the health-seeking behaviours of young people in their specific contexts.

Understanding sexual and reproductive health from the perspective of late adolescents in Northern Thailand: a phenomenological study

BACKGROUND

Worldwide, Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) issues comprise a third of health problems for women aged 15-44. SRH education equips people with knowledge of concepts around sexuality and reproduction, and the skills help to make informed decisions to prevent sexual and reproductive ill-health, including unplanned pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of late adolescents relating to SRH, examining their attitudes toward sex and contraception, and to identify the gaps in knowledge pertiaing to decision-making around risk-taking behaviour.

METHODS

A qualitative phenomenological study was undertaken with 30 adolescents aged 18-19, purposively and snowball sampled from a university in Northern Thailand. Data collaction took place from July 2020 to January 2021. In-depth individual interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. Data were recorded, transcribed, and analysed in ATLAS.ti version 9, using Modified Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to identify pertinent themes.

RESULTS

Participants revealed five key experiences of SRH related to sex and contraception: Keeping a secret; Seeking Freedom and Love; Having SRH education; Self-protection; Parental acceptance. All findings reflected the value and impact of SRH on the experiences of late adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides detailed knowledge about adolescents' perspectives of SRH and rights in terms of accessing sexual and reproductive health care and information as well as autonomy in sexual and reproductive decision-making. Gaining SRH education can assist decision-making concerning contraceptive methods for family planning and STI prevention. The study recommends that SRH and rights-based education should be designed responsively and appropriately for female and male adolescents, their families, and society. The content of SRH should be informed and advocated by healthcare providers, educators, policy makers, and systems to empower adolescents in order to achieve effective SRH education.

"Such conversations are not had in the families": a qualitative study of the determinants of young adolescents' access to sexual and reproductive health and rights information in Rwanda

Background

Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information during adolescence has become a global concern. This study explored factors that enable or prevent young adolescents from accessing to SRHR information from the perspective of the key informants in Rwanda.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 16 purposively selected key informants from public and private institutions in Rwanda. This selection was based on their positions and expertise in delivering SRHR information to adolescents. The interview guide questions were designed based on the social-ecological theoretical framework of adolescent health. The interview transcripts were recorded, transcribed, translated and thematically analysed in Nvivo 11.

Results

The study reflected that multiple enablers and barriers at the individual, relationship, community and societal levels determined young adolescents’ access to SRHR information. These determinants include information-seeking behaviour and age of starting sexuality education at the individual level; and parents’ limited communication with young adolescents due to taboos, lack of skills, limited parental availability, beliefs, lack of appropriate language and peer norms at the relationships level. Enablers and barriers at the community level were the diversity of SRHR sources, the scope of sexuality education programmes, and cultural and religious beliefs. Finally, the perceived enablers and barriers at the societal level consisted of inadequate resources, inappropriate SRHR policy-making processes and unfriendly SRHR laws.

Conclusion

Enabling access to SRHR information requires addressing multiple factors within the social-ecological environment of young adolescents. Addressing these factors may facilitate improved access to SRHR information for this age group.

Factors influencing the integration of comprehensive sexuality education into educational systems in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) plays a critical role in promoting youth and adolescent's sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing. However, little is known about the enablers and barriers affecting the integration of CSE into educational programmes. The aim of this review is to explore positive and negative factors influencing the integration of CSE into national curricula and educational systems in low- and middle-income countries.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic literature review (January 2010 to August 2022). The results accord with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis standards for systematic reviews. Data were retrieved from the PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Web of Hinari databases. The search yielded 442 publications, of which 34 met the inclusion criteria for full-text screening. The review is guided by an established conceptual framework that incorporates the integration of health innovations into health systems. Data were analysed using a thematic synthesis approach.

RESULTS

The magnitude of the problem is evidenced by sexual and reproductive health challenges such as high teenage pregnancies, early marriages, and sexually transmitted infections. Awareness of these challenges can facilitate the development of interventions and the implementation and integration of CSE. Reported aspects of the interventions include core CSE content, delivery methods, training materials and resources, and various teacher-training factors. Reasons for adoption include perceived benefits of CSE, experiences and characteristics of both teachers and learners, and religious, social and cultural factors. Broad system characteristics include strengthening links between schools and health facilities, school and community-based collaboration, coordination of CSE implementation, and the monitoring and evaluation of CSE. Ultimately, the availability of resources, national policies and laws, international agendas, and political commitment will impact upon the extent and level of integration.

CONCLUSION

Social, economic, cultural, political, legal, and financial contextual factors influence the implementation and integration of CSE into national curricula and educational systems. Stakeholder collaboration and involvement in the design and appropriateness of interventions is critical.

The influence of parents' perception on online education and training brand recognition

At present, the academic education of Chinese students is basically public education, but the quality training is mainly handed over to the market for training. Therefore, China's online education and training institutions have gradually developed under this demand. With the improvement of people's living standards, families have higher and higher requirements for children's education, expecting that children can be well improved in physical, mental and psychological aspects, and hoping that they will have their own advantages in the future competition. Therefore, this paper studies the influence of parents' perception on the brand recognition of online education and training. Through the analysis of dance online training institutions, the research shows that among the three categories, teachers' Graduation schools account for the highest proportion, with an average proportion of 47.07%, followed by teachers' grade certificates, with a proportion of 32.29%, and teachers' competition scores of 25.57%. Therefore, in the process of operation, online dance training institutions should meet the needs of parents to understand the professional level of teachers. Improve the service system of training institutions, improve the parent brand recognition and the number of customers of training institutions, further improve online education and training institutions, and provide them with improvement suggestions and measures for reference.

Knowledge, attitude and perception of sex education among school going adolescents in urban area of Chennai, Tamil Nadu

INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a significant period of one's life, the students or children at this age should be taught about sex education in order to lead a healthy reproductive life, to prevent sexually transmitted disease and to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the current knowledge of school going adolescents on reproductive health and its association with their socio demographic profile and determining their behaviour and understanding of school sex education.

METHODOLOGY

A cross sectional analysis was carried out in 2 private schools at Chennai among the students of 9th to 12th standard. A sample of 346 was taken and a structured questionnaire was used to evaluate. The data was analysed by SPSS software version 22. Chi square test was used (<0.05 is significant).

RESULTS

Out of 346, 44.2% were males and 55.8% were females. 85.9% of students from nuclear family responded True for the statement 'Male hormone is called as Testosterone'. Females had better knowledge on sex education than Males which was significant. XII standard students had better and positive attitude towards sex education than IX standard students. Only 5% responded to have sex-related information from Parents than others who responded friends, doctors and teachers.

CONCLUSION

It is seen that among school going adolescents there is lack of knowledge and varied perceptions towards sex education. So, sex education should be implemented more efficiently in the developing countries and so it can lead to a healthy reproductive life and sexual health among the adolescents.