Views of Adolescent Girls on the Use of Implanon in a Public Primary Health Care Clinic in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Abstract

Background: Implanon is one of the contraceptives that protects women from falling pregnant for a period of 3 years. Levonorgestrel implants are perfect for adolescents who wish to have lengthy protection against pregnancy and for those who are not consistent in taking Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCP). Objective: The objective of the study is to investigate the views of adolescent girls on the use of Implanon as a birth control method. Methods: A qualitative explorative and descriptive study was conducted to explore and describe the views of adolescent girls regarding the use of Implanon as a birth control method at a primary health clinic in Limpopo Province. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 adolescent girls who had previously used the Implanon and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Data were analyzed using the Tesch’s open coding analysis and the following themes emerged: views of adolescent’s girls on the use of Implanon, experiences of adolescent girls while using Implanon, health professionals and the insertion of Implanon and other chronic treatments. Results: The study reveals that the lack of trained health professionals, competency in performing Implanon insertion and poor counseling skills by health professionals prompted fear amongst the adolescent girls, which contributed to the low uptake of adolescent girls of the Implanon contraceptive. Conclusion: There is a need for more training of health professionals on counseling skills, insertion, and removal of Implanon. Furthermore, awareness campaigns or dialogues must be hosted annually to engage the public to talk about Implanon.

Experiences of women of childbearing age regarding Implanon provision in South Africa

“…In alignment with this study findings, Mkansi 9 found that secondary school-going girls at Bokamoso School in Polokwane District had insufficient knowledge about Implanon, how it works and its side effects. 10 Rabopape et al 11 revealed similar findings to this study, which showed that a lack of knowledge about Implanon’s side effects, hence contributed to low uptake by adolescent girls in the Limpopo province. 9 Adeagbo et al 12 concurred with this study finding, as women required detailed and evidence-based counselling that encompasses the likely side effects and other features of the method.…”

Utilisation of modern contraceptives by sexually active adolescent girls in Rwanda: a nationwide cross-sectional study

“…Even when compared to male condoms (12.8%), implants (69.1%) were by far the most popular modern contraceptive method among sexually active Rwandan female youth. This is surprising given that male condoms are non-invasive and more readily available in small shops and local pharmacies as opposed to implants and other modern methods, which require a visit to a health facility and are frequently preceded by a fear of unwanted effects including fertility interference due to their hormonal nature [ 39 – 41 ]. These findings contradict Dennis et al .…”

“…Even when compared to male condoms (12.8%), implants (69.1%) were by far the most popular modern contraceptive method among sexually active Rwandan female youth. This is surprising given that male condoms are non-invasive and more readily available in small shops and local pharmacies as opposed to implants and other modern methods, which require a visit to a health facility and are frequently preceded by a fear of unwanted effects including fertility interference due to their hormonal nature [39][40][41]. These findings contradict Dennis et al ( 2017), who argue that there is a shift from condoms and pills, which are short-term methods, to injectable contraception and much lower use of long-term methods such as implants and IUD, the reason being that at such a young age, the majority of women are unmarried and having infrequent sex, and thus opting for methods that are easier to use and stop as needed [42].…”

Utilisation of modern contraceptives by sexually active adolescent girls in Rwanda: a nationwide cross-sectional study

“…Even when compared to male condoms (2.1%), implants (12.1%) were by far the most popular modern contraceptive method among sexually active Rwandan female youth. This is surprising given that male condoms are non-invasive and more readily available in small shops and local pharmacies as opposed to implants and other modern methods, which require a visit to a health facility and are frequently preceded by a fear of unwanted effects including fertility interference due to their hormonal nature [35][36][37]. These ndings contradict Dennis et al (2017), who argue that there is a shift from condoms and pills, which are short-term methods, to injectable contraception and much lower use of long-term methods such as implants and IUD, the reason being that at such a young age, the majority of women are unmarried and having infrequent sex, and thus opting for methods that are easier to use and stop as needed [38].…”