Young people’s parental discussion about sexual and reproductive health issues and its associated factors in Awabel woreda, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundIn Ethiopia besides the very low health seeking behavior of young people, they do not have access to sexual and reproductive health information and even the existing health services are adult-centered. Furthermore, health providers are not well equipped in addressing young people sexual and reproductive health needs. Therefore, parent-young people discussion about sexual and reproductive health issues are crucial in increasing their awareness and reduces their risky sexual behaviors. This study was aimed to assess young people’s parental discussion about sexual and reproductive health issues and its associated factors in Awabel woreda, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 781 young people aged 10–24 years in Awabel Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia. A pre-tested structured interview administered questionnaire was used for the data collection. The collected data were entered using Epi Data 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 21.ResultsIn the past 6 months, about one quarter, 25.3 % of young people had a parental discussion about sexual and reproductive health issues. Young people who reside in urban areas were more likely to discuss on sexual and reproductive health issues with their parents [AOR = 2.44, 95 % CI: 1.54–3.89]. Similarly, being male was more likely to have a parental discussion about sexual and reproductive health issues than females [AOR = 1.63, 95 % CI: 1.11–2.38]. Furthermore, the odds of parent-young people discussion about SRH matters was more likely among young people aged 20–24 years [AOR = 4.57, 95 % CI: 2.13–9.82], living with fathers [AOR = 2.46, 95 % CI: 1.20–5.04] and had attained a primary level of education [AOR = 2.89, 95 % CI: 1.22–6.87]. Parents lack of interest to discuss, feeling ashamed and culturally not acceptable to talk about sexual matters were found to deter young people’s in discussing sexual and reproductive health matters.ConclusionParent-young people discussion about sexual and reproductive health is very low and there are different hindering factors. And therefore, young people’s sexual and reproductive health programs or policies should be designed in addressing the cultural and societal factors besides the individual or behavioral factors.

Assessment of Communication on Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues among Mizan Secondary and Preparatory School Students with Parents, Mizan Town, Ethiopia, 2016

“…In our research finding from the total respondents who had discussed about contraceptives majority 51(78.5%) of them had discussed about abstinence. This finding is less than the finding done in Nigeria (97.5%) but it is much greater than the study conducted in North West of Ethiopia (24.9%) [41,44]. May difference is due to the variation in knowledge of the students and parents about contraceptive and methodology of the study.…”

“…In our study from a total of 103 respondents 58(56.3%) of them had discussed about premarital sex, the study done in Mekele (44.7%) of respondents had discussed about premarital sex with their parents and the study done in northwest Ethiopia (15%) of study participants had discussed about premarital sex with their parents [43,44]. This variation may be due to cultural difference of the society.…”

Parent-Adolescent Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Its Association with Gender and Pre-Marital Sex Among Secondary and Preparatory School Students in Woldia Town, North East Ethiopia, 2019

“…In addition to this, factors associated with Communication between parent and adolescent on SRH issues varies where by the effect of gender and premarital sexual practice differ across studies conducted in the same groups of populations. According to study finding gender had a positive relationship with communication on SRH (14,16) while other studies showed no association (10)(11)(12)(13). Premarital sexual practice was positively linked with SRH communication between parent and adolescent (10,11) while other study findings suggested that there was no association (12)(13)(14)16).…”

“…According to study finding gender had a positive relationship with communication on SRH (14,16) while other studies showed no association (10)(11)(12)(13). Premarital sexual practice was positively linked with SRH communication between parent and adolescent (10,11) while other study findings suggested that there was no association (12)(13)(14)16). So, this study aims is to assess the magnitude of communication between adolescents and parents on SRH issues and its association with gender and premarital sexual practice among school adolescents of Woldia Town.…”

Gender Differences in the Effect of Family Structure on Educational Outcomes Among Nigerian Youth

“…Parent-child connectedness, another component of family structure has been associated with a wide range of youth development indicators (Ayehu, Kassaw, & Hailu, 2016;Bastien, Kajula, & Muhwezi, 2011;Markham et al, 2010;Ngom, Magadi, & Owuor, 2003). Positive relationships in the family allow parents engage with youth which may be crucial for their self-esteem, aspirations, and development.…”