Association between exposure to social media and knowledge of sexual and reproductive health among adolescent girls: evidence from the UDAYA survey in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India

Association of willingness to use hormonal contraception with knowledge: A national survey

OBJECTIVE

To determine if willingness to use and concern with using hormonal contraception (HC) is associated with knowledge about HC.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted an online cross-sectional survey of self-identified women, US residents 18 and older using Amazon Mechanical Turk and ResearchMatch.org. Primary outcome was HC knowledge level, with participants categorized into binary knowledge level variable based on accuracy of responses to seven statements about HC (e.g. HC causes infertility, HC decreases acne). We assessed participant willingness and concern with using HC, including the primary type of concern with HC (physical, emotional, complications, other). We used bivariate tests and a multivariable logistic regression model to test the association of willingness and concern about HC to knowledge level.

RESULTS

Of 1041 respondents ages 18-81, 18% had no concerns and were willing to use HC, 64% had some concerns but were willing to use HC, and 18% had concerns and were not willing to use HC. Respondents who had concerns but were still willing to use HC were less likely to be concerned about complications than those who were unwilling (31.0% vs. 43.7%; p < 0.001). The median number of correct responses to knowledge statements was three (IQR 2-5) and 94.8% of participants answered at least one statement incorrectly. After controlling for age, current form of contraception, education, rurality, census region, political, and religious beliefs, participants who were willing to use HC without concerns (aOR=4.32; 95% CI: 2.45-7.62) and those who were willing but had concerns (aOR=2.11; 95% CI: 1.35-3.30) was associated with being more knowledgeable as compared to those not willing to use HC (reference).

CONCLUSION

Women willing to use HC are more likely to be more knowledgeable about HC. More than 80% of women report concerns with HC.

IMPLICATIONS

Patients unwilling to use HC are more likely to have knowledge gaps in their understanding of HC side effects and risk of complications. For shared decision-making, providers should specifically address the facts and myths surrounding HC to ensure patients are making informed decisions about their reproductive health.

Impact of digital exposure on premarital sex and contraception use among unmarried Indian youth

BACKGROUND

Premarital sex in India is hugely stigmatized. With the widespread use of mobile phones and the internet, attitudes and behaviors towards premarital sexual activities are inevitably shifting. This study investigates the impact of digital exposure, specifically mobile phones and the internet on premarital sex and contraception use among unmarried Indian youths.

METHODOLOGY

Utilizing data from the 5th National Family Health Survey, the analysis includes 172,568 women and 33,397 men aged 15-29 years. The study applies univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical methods, such as Chi-square tests and Multiple Logistic Regression. Propensity Score matching addresses selection bias, estimating the impact of digital exposure on premarital sexual activities and condom use.

RESULTS

The findings show that youth exposed to mobile phones and the internet are more likely to engage in premarital sex and use condoms during their first sexual encounter. Specifically, 13.46% of men and 2.83% of women reported premarital sex, with 60.84% of men using condoms at first sex. These behaviors are significantly associated with age, education, urban residence, and mass media exposure.

CONCLUSION

Digital exposure significantly influences premarital sexual behaviors and contraception use among unmarried Indian youth. Adoption of mobile devices and internet usage in India should be accompanied by the implementation of holistic and culturally appropriate technology-driven interventions to provide sex education in India.

Using social media for male sexual health: what do we miss? A perspective article on good practices and missing evidence

Social media are popular and play a key role in influencing, informing, and stimulating users in their everyday lives. People (especially adolescents and young adults) increasingly use social media to get and share sexual health-related information. Studies have shown encouraging results on using social media for sexual health communication improving attitudes and behaviors, although the current quality of studies makes them little reliable. In fact, literature shows how research on social media and sexual health communication has many limitations and unexplored areas, especially for male users. What can we do as sexual health professionals to improve in this field? The answer is simple: engage in better communication and do more research, starting from the users' needs. There is the urgency to embrace these new ways of information among professionals in order to improve access to better care. In this perspective article, authors will present and discuss some of the evidence on the use of social media in male sexual health and offer some suggestions on how to communicate better in these platforms.

Adolescent utilization of sexual and reproductive health services in Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Insights from multilevel and latent class analysis

Introduction

Adolescents face unique challenges related to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH), with access to timely services being critical for positive outcomes. However, SRH service utilization among adolescents remains low. This study aimed to identify factors influencing SRH service use among adolescents in Gamo Zone, Ethiopia.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study involved 1172 adolescents selected through stratified sampling. Structured face-to-face interviews were employed for data collection. Multilevel mixed logistic regression was fitted to identify factors and latent class analysis was conducted to understand population heterogeneity.

Results

The findings of this study reveal that 198 (16.89%) adolescents (95% CI: 14.8%-19.2%) utilized SRH services within the past 12 months. Factors significantly associated with SRH service utilization included good knowledge about SRH rights (AOR = 4.65; 95% CI: 2.68, 8.07), belonging to one-parent families (AOR = 4.13; 95% CI: 2.39, 7.12), engaging in parental discussions regarding SRH issues (AOR = 3.17; 95% CI: 1.89, 5.29), high family support (AOR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.09, 3.51), and enrolling in school (AOR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.33). Additionally, access to social media was associated with increased SRH service utilization among adolescents (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.25, 3.15). Latent class analysis identified four groups: rural school-enrolled adolescents living with parents, urban school-enrolled adolescents with both parents, urban disadvantaged female adolescents, and early adolescents with limited social media access.

Conclusions

In conclusion, our study sheds light on the utilization of SRH services among adolescents, revealing that 16.89% of the participants accessed these services within the past year. Significant factors associated with SRH service utilization included good knowledge about SRH rights, belonging to one-parent families, engaging in parental discussions regarding SRH issues, high family support, and enrollment in school. Interestingly, access to social media was also linked to increased utilization of SRH services among adolescents. Furthermore, our latent class analysis identified four distinct classes of adolescents based on socio-demographic indicators, highlighting the heterogeneity within this population. These findings underscore the importance of tailored interventions and targeted approaches to address the diverse needs of adolescents in accessing and utilizing SRH services.

Exploring factors influencing the perspective regarding HIV transmission and prevention among college students in India

Objective and Design

Although many studies have been conducted to assess the knowledge and practices among healthcare workers, high-risk groups or medical students, very few studies have been conducted among college students from non-medical backgrounds. Our study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perception about human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) among the college students of the Mumbai region and to determine their association with the socio-demographic variables.

Setting and Methods

A cross-sectional online and offline questionnaire survey was conducted among 401 college students from the month of August 2022 to October 2022. Mean score and percentage were used to analyse the data.

Results

About 82.04% of participants exhibited good knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, while 46.38% had a positive attitude towards HIV. Age, gender, religion and education had not influenced either knowledge or attitude significantly. Overall, knowledge score had a weak positive correlation with attitude of the participants.

Conclusion

Our study findings indicate that a holistic approach covering knowledge, psychological and societal health aspects is necessary among youth in India for positive changes in people's behaviour and achieving HIV prevention and management goals which will benefit public health at large.

Vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) / Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among adolescent girls and young women in India: A rapid review

Limited evidence is available on the vulnerability of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) to sexual risk behaviour and STI/HIV. Though there are almost no statistics available on vulnerability, related literature suggests that AGYW have low awareness about sexual risk behaviour/ transmission and the prevalence of STI/HIV, making them vulnerable. We conducted a rapid review of peer-reviewed studies addressing transmission network, prevalence, incidence awareness, common determinants of sexual risk behaviour/STI/HIV, health-seeking behaviour and existing interventions addressing the situation among AGYW (age 15-24) to inform the evidence gap in this crucial area of research. We registered the study in PROSPERO (CRD42023403713). We developed detailed inclusion/exclusion criteria, searched JSTOR, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct and Population Council Knowledge Commons databases and followed the guidance from Cochrane Rapid Review to develop the rapid review. We also searched the bibliography of the included studies. We included the English language peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, mixed method studies published from Jan 1 2000 to Mar 31 2023. Six reviewers extracted data, and the seventh reviewer independently assessed the quality. Ninety-six studies met the inclusion criteria. We used descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis methods for data analysis. We also conducted a Risk of Bias Assessment (RoB) to check the quality of the included studies. Inadequate literature was found on the transmission network. Prevalence and awareness of STI/HIV are low among AGYW. However, Female Sex Workers, sex-trafficked women or drug users in this age group suffer more. Age, education, income, relationship dynamics with spouses/partners, multiple partners, and substance use are crucial in determining STI/HIV. Traditional sources of health seeking are more popular than formal sources because of social stigma. Mass media campaigns, community mobilization programs, and life skills training programs increase awareness about HIV, condom use and self-efficacy. The inclusion of only English language studies and not conducting meta-analysis because of high heterogeneity are some of the limitations of the study.

Prevalence and Predictors of Risky Sexual Behavior Among Young Men in India: Evidence From National Family Health Survey

Objective

The study examines the prevalence and factors associated with high-risk sexual behavior among sexually active young Indian men.

Methods

This study used samples of 14,584 men aged 15 to 29 from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21.

Results

14% of men engaged in early sexual debut (<18 years), 68% had unprotected sex, and 4% had multiple sexual partners in the past 12 months. Age, marital status, educational attainment, occupation, wealth quintile, alcohol consumption, internet use, media exposure, and region were significant predictors of risky sexual behavior.

Conclusions

We suggest a tailored approach for effective policy design considering risk factors of risky sexual behavior.