KNOWLEDGE ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN OSOGBO, OSUN STATE
Abstract
Ignoring sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of in school adolescents ought to have wider social, health consequences as well as hinderance to achieving sustainable Development goal 3 which is geared towards promoting well-being and healthy life. This study aims is to study knowledge on reproductive health services and sexual behavior of adolescents in Osogbo, Osun-State with a view to providing a basis for evidence based programming for adolescent reproductive health services It was a cross-sectional study using multi-stage sampling technique to select 404 respondents were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using pre-tested self-administered semi structured questionnaire, analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23 and presented using appropriate tables and charts. Level of significance set at 0.05. The mean age was with majority of the respondents between 16-19 years old 44.5% female 59.9%, Christians 1e51.2% and Yorubas (96.8%). In terms of awareness, about (86.4%) has heard of puberty and almost half of the participants (41.8%) mentioned teachers as their source of information. Also, 49% of the respondents could define puberty, 45.3% understand the outcomes of unprotected sexual intercourse. Concerning categorized knowledge using mean score, 46.3% of the respondents had good knowledge of sexuality and STIs. Regarding Reproductive Health (RH) services, only 46.5% were aware of RH services and 31.2% were able to identify services under RHS. Also, 44.8% had good knowledge of RHS. In terms of sexual behavior, 19.8% of the respondents had engaged in sexual intercourse out of which 21.3% regularly used condom during intercourse. Those that are sexually active engaged in risky sexual behavior are 78.8% There is a significant association between the respondents' knowledge of sexuality and their sexual behavior (x=5.500, df-1, p=0.0315). There was low comprehensive knowledge on sexuality and reproductive health services despite high level of awareness. Thefore, there should be continuous health education using appropriate communication media on issues related to sexuallity among respondents
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