Assessment Of Communication Messages Used In Adolescent Reproductive Health Education

Abstract

The adolescent being a primary agent of socialization, the communication can exert a strong influence on adolescent sexual behaviour. Reproductive health is a vital aspect of growth and development throughout our lives, especially among the adolescence. Therefore, to aid in the design and implementation of effective prevention programmes, it is important to assess the communication messages used in adolescent reproductive health education among school-going adolescents. The study used a survey methodology that involved self-administered questionnaires to solicit data from 190 SHS students from the Kwahu-South District. Data analysis was done using SPSS and results presented using tables and charts. In this study, significant discoveries have been made. It was found out that the sources of adolescent reproductive or sexual health education included school and media. About (72.9%) of males and 52 (67.5%) of females indicated mothers as those who normally give education. The most identified channel of communication was the inter-personal form. The Levene's Test (t=-3.077, Sig. = 0.002) revealed a significant difference between the opinion of males and females toward frequency of facing of sexual health problems. The findings of this study suggest that prevention programmes that seek to educate Ghanaian school-going adolescents about sexual risk behaviour must strongly encourage communication