Knowledge and perceptions of adolescents and community leaders on youth friendly health services: a case of selected communities in Salima
Loading...
Date
2016-04-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The aim of the study was to establish the extent of knowledge on and the perception of adolescents and community leaders towards Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) in communities of Traditional Authorities (T/A) Maganga and Kambwiri in Salima District. This was a cross sectional quantitative study that involved 268 adolescents of which 129were females and 139were male, and 84 community leaders from randomly selected village heads. Data were collected by administering a structured questionnaire during face to face interviews with the participants. Statistical package for social Scientists (SPSS) version 16.0 was used to analyse data. The study revealed the following; (a) that knowledge of YFHS as a concept is high among adolescents as well as community leaders but they both had limited information on services that are provided at delivery points and where to access the services. (b) The higher %age of adolescents and community leaders 51% and 43% respectively had positive perception towards YFHS. On the other hand there was another %age (46%) of adolescents who had negative perception towards fellow adolescents who seek YFHS and view them as prostitutes or sexually active. (c) that factors such as consent from parents to allow adolescents access the service, unfriendly services, long waiting hours, denial of services, and services offered at the delivery point influence the uptake of YFHS. (d) that community leaders have a role to play in order to promote service access. The roles of community leaders in YFHS were found out to be promoting active participation in YFHS activities, encouraging adolescents to access the YFHS, urging parents to allow adolescents participate in YFHS activities and encouraging adolescents delay sex until maturity. Results also show that there is a need for community involvement and sensitization and involvement in YFHS activities in order for the program to be accepted by the community. On the other hand health workers in service trainings on YFHS can help in changing their attitude towards
adolescents who access the services.