Awareness and utilization of adolescent reproductive health services among in‑school adolescents in urban and rural communities in Oyo State

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescents require a range of scientifically accurate sexual and reproductive health information and services. Adolescent reproductive health services (ARHSs) are an integral part of adolescent health and it is pertinent that adolescents know about them to be able to benefit from them. This study was to assess the awareness and utilization of adolescents in Oyo State about ARHSs. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross‑sectional study carried out among in‑school adolescents where 225 respondents each were selected for the rural and urban groups using a multi‑stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a semi‑structured questionnaire, and analysis was performed with SPSS version 22. Results: A total of 225 rural and 225 urban respondents participated in this study, with a mean age of 14.3 ± 1.93 and 13.9 ± 2.03 for rural and urban respondents, respectively. Few of the respondents (59, 13.1%) were aware of the existence of ARHS, of which, 34 (57.6%) were of the urban respondents and 25 (42.4%) were from the rural respondents. Only 36 (7.8%) of respondents had ever utilized ARHS with 22 (61.1%) from urban communities. The major reason why almost half of 207 (49.6%) of the adolescents had never been to a facility rendering ARHS before was that they did not know where to go, which was higher among the rural respondents. Conclusions: Awareness of ARHSs was lower among rural respondents, leading to poor utilization of such service. It is, therefore, recommended that more youth‑friendly environments should be made available and accessible to adolescents, especially in rural areas (114, 53.3%).