An Assessment of Parents-Adolescents Communication on Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters between Evelyn Hone College Lecturers and their Adolescent Children, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

Background: One of the neglected issues in our society today, is effective communication between parents and adolescents on matters of Sex and Reproductive Health. This problem has saliently exposed the adolescents to the risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancies as well as engaging in drug and substance abuse. As such, this study aimed at assessing the extent of parent-adolescents communication on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) matters among the Lecturers at Evelyn Hone College and their children. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey study design was used in which 85 respondents were conveniently recruited into the study. Data collection was through pre-tested semi structured questionnaires. Analysis of data was done using SPSS version18 and graphs were generated using Microsoft Excel. Results: The study revealed that parents were not very much willing to offer SRH education to their adolescent children. They preferred having their children being taught SRH education by non-family members rather than themselves. Additionally, it was further shown that parents were initiators of SRH discussions in a home and not children. Further, it was also revealed that adolescents who had ever received SRH education from their parents were less likely to be promiscuous as compared to those who lacked such education. It was however noted that most female lecturers spent much of their time educating their children in SRH than their male counterparts. Conclusion: The findings suggested that parenthood and gender play key roles in the communication of SRH matters between parents and adolescent children. As it was seen that female Lecturers spent much time communicating with their adolescent children on SRH issues than the male Lecturers. However, there is need to create avenues other than a home where adolescents will be able to openly discuss and share experiences about SRH especially with the guidance of a parent.

Parent-adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health among school adolescents of Woldia town, Ethiopia by the year 2019

“…This study showed that 56.3% of adolescents who participated in the study had communicated with their parents. This result wa slower than studies conducted in USA (Widman et al , 2014), Ghana (Esantsi et al , 2015) and Zambia (Haakonde et al , 2018). The reason may be associated with differences in culture, socioeconomic development and studied populations, whereby the study in Zambia included adolescents of highly educated families.…”

“…PAC on SRH issues varies across and within countries. It reached to 71% in USA (Widman et al , 2014), 21% in Tanzania (Muthengi et al , 2015), 9.5% in Nigeria (Ojebuyi et al , 2019), 90% in Zambia (Haakonde et al , 2018), 61% in Ghana (Esantsi et al , 2015) and 19% in Rwanda (Bushaija et al , 2013). In Ethiopia, PAC on SRH matters among secondary and preparatory school students varied by setups like 47% Oromia (Habte et al , 2019), 28.9% in BenishangulGumuz (Yesus and Fantahun, 2010), 68.5% (Mekie et al , 2019) and 82.7% in Amhara region (Chane and Cherie, 2018).…”