Use of the Internet as a source for reproductive health information seeking among adolescent girls in secondary schools in Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Background Adolescent female students should be provided opportunities to access reproductive health information to navigate this period of development successfully. Examining the use of the Internet for accessing reproductive health information by this group will provide useful information on their information needs and seeking behaviour. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the use of the Internet for reproductive health information among adolescent female students in secondary schools in Enugu, Nigeria. Method This descriptive study was conducted on adolescent female students in six secondary schools in Enugu urban. Data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire. A total of 120 adolescent female students participated in the study. Findings The adolescent female students use the Internet to seek for information on general see education (n = 120, 100%), sexual hygiene (n = 71, 59%), abstinence from premarital sex (n = 68, 57%), avoidance of sexual abuse (n = 67, 56%). Their preference for the Internet include its privacy (n = 115, 96%) and wealth of information (n = 111, 92%). Conclusions Adolescent female students use the Internet to meet their reproductive health information needs. Access to the Internet should be enhanced for this group.

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“…Mass media has been shown to play an important role in improving contraceptive use among Nigerian women. [29,30] Adolescent female students should be provided opportunities to access reproductive health information to navigate this period of development successfully.…”

Peer review processes at the Health Information and Libraries Journal

“…United Nation figures indicate that Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world and believed to have the third largest youth population after India and China. This youth population is hungry for health information, as Ibegbulam, Akpom, Enem and Onyam's () self‐administrated questionnaire survey of female secondary school students illustrates. Ibegbulam et al.…”

“…United Nation figures indicate that Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world and believed to have the third largest youth population after India and China. This youth population is hungry for health information, as Ibegbulam, Akpom, Enem and Onyam's (2018) self-administrated questionnaire survey of female secondary school students illustrates. Ibegbulam et al (2018) explored the access opportunities of 120 adolescent girls for reproductive health information, finding that the privacy and wealth of information available on the Internet make it the primary sources of information for this age group.…”

“…This youth population is hungry for health information, as Ibegbulam, Akpom, Enem and Onyam's (2018) self-administrated questionnaire survey of female secondary school students illustrates. Ibegbulam et al (2018) explored the access opportunities of 120 adolescent girls for reproductive health information, finding that the privacy and wealth of information available on the Internet make it the primary sources of information for this age group. However, preferences in access to health information are seen to be different in Obasola and Mabawonku's (2018) questionnaire and focus group study of ICT-based projects with mothers' perceptions of maternal and child health information.…”