A study of the functioning of the adolescent friendly health clinics as well as the awareness and health seeking behaviour of adolescents attending the adolescent friendly health clinics in the Rampurhat health district, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Background: Adolescents constitute more than half of the country's population and one-sixth of the global population. Many of them drop out of school, marry young, work in dangerous jobs and engage in sexual activity. Many of the SDGs are heavily reliant on adolescent health and well-being so services should be accessible, acceptable, equitable, appropriate, effective, and comprehensive. Objective of current study was to study the awareness and health seeking behaviour among the Adolescents girls and boys attending AFHCs as well as functioning of adolescent friendly health clinic services in Rampurhat health district.Methods: This is a Cross-sectional study among the adolescents belonging to the age group of 15-19 years attending AFHCs and are residents of Rampurhat health district, West Bengal.Results: 40% of adolescent friendly health clinics (AFHCs) are located away from the OPD/Labour Room or other congested areas. Except for sanitary napkins, which were available at 40% of clinics, 80% of AFHCs had 100% supplies of the equipment and commodities. Most adolescent girls (44.5%) experienced menstrual problems and most adolescent boys (27.1%) reported genital itching and urinary problems. 48.5% of clients stated that they did not feel compelled to visit AFHCs. Clinical services were provided to 60% of AFHCs, with the remaining 40% receiving only partial clinical services.Conclusions: One of the primary reasons for low utilisation of available Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) related services is a lack of awareness. Preventing adolescent well-being issues requires a multifaceted approach involving many partners, including adolescents, schools, parents, society, the government, and health care providers.

Compliance of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics with National and International Standards: Quantitative findings from the i-Saathiya study

“…Successful compliance with RKSK benchmarks was indicated by a host of reasons, including awareness about the AFHC through signage, convenient working hours, functional days and clean surroundings. Similar findings have been observed in the state of Ahmedabad24 and West Bengal 27. Moreover, AFHCs in both the study states were accessible by local transport, unlike AFHCs in Rajasthan, where ease of accessibility was a major concern 28.…”

“…36 Therefore, the absence of IEC materials, specifically in the regional language at the health facility, can act as a hurdle in utilisation of the health services by adolescents. Studies across various Indian states including Gujarat (Ahmedabad), 24 Rajasthan 28 replicate the finding of limited IEC material at the AFHCs, while AFHCs in West Bengal 27 provided IEC material on SRH. To make the Indian AFHC compliant to this benchmark, key is to have a combination of no-tech and high-tech resources in AFHCs that may assist in catering to a wider range of literacy levels of adolescents.…”

“…Similar findings have been observed in the state of Ahmedabad 24 and West Bengal. 27 Moreover, AFHCs in both the study states were accessible by local transport, unlike AFHCs in Rajasthan, where ease of accessibility was a major concern. 28 Study results showed that the privacy and confidentiality of the patient were maintained, as all case records were kept in secured place and only authorised personnel (counsellor, ANM and MO) had access to retrieve them.…”