Utilisation Of Youth-Friendly Health Services Among Adolescents In The Yilo Krobo Municipality

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescents aged between 10 to 19 years form about 1.4 billion of the world population. In Ghana, adolescents constitute about a quarter of the total population. The developmental changes which occur during this period makes them susceptible to numerous health challenges. In all countries of the world, most boys and girls are reaching puberty earlier than ever; this leads most of them to start sex-related activities at a very young age. This has led to increases in the risk of vulnerability to many venereal diseases, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis and many unwanted pregnancies with its attendant matters such as unsafe abortion. Majority of Ghanaian adolescents underutilize Reproductive Health (RH) services principally because of the stigmatization of adolescents who engage in sexual activities. Aim: This study looked at the utilization of SRH services among adolescents aged 10-19 years in the Yilo Krobo Municipality. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional community-based design using structured questionnaire. The study was guided by the Behavioural Model of Health Service Utilization to explore the various variables associated with the usage of youth-friendly health services by adolescents. A multistage sampling technique was deployed to sample 401 adolescents aged 10 to 19 from both first and second cycle schools in the municipality. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. A P-value of 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Result: The study discovered that the usage of Youth-friendly health services among adolescents in the Yilo Krobo Municipality is approximately 21.4% and about 47.7% went there for general counselling and health information service. The study also found out that about 70.9% respondents were not comfortable with gender of service providers. About 93.6% of participants stated that they have had sex in the last twelve months and 78.1% currently have sexual partners. Friends and peers constituted the major source of sexual and reproductive health information as well as youth-friendly health services. The high cost of service is major hindrance to utilisation of youth-friendly health service. Additionally, reasons noted for low utilisation of these services were absence of privacy and confidentiality, poor attitude of healthcare professionals, inconvenient working hours of the facilities and perceptions of adults about the adolescents. Conclusion: The utilisation of youth-friendly health service facilities among adolescents in the study area is very low. Sexual activities are key determinants of utilization of SRH services. Redesigning and restructuring of the healthcare delivery system to be more receptive to the current needs of the adolescents and finally the need for multi-sectorial intervention to eradicate stigma and encourage adolescents to utilize youth-friendly health services.