Adolescent Barriers in Accessing Reproductive Health Services in Developing Countries

Abstract

Background : Adolescents (10–19 years) are the future leaders of our society and an untapped human resource. About one-fifth (more than 1.2bn) of the global population are adolescents, and many of the world’s adolescents live in developing nations. Adolescents are perceived to be healthy, however, they are vulnerable and exposed to many health risks leading to premature deaths. In 2015, about 1.3m adolescents died globally from causes that could have been prevented. Over two-thirds of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with 45 percent from Africa. Approximately 16m girls aged 15–19 years and 2.5m girls under 16 years give birth each year in developing regions. About 3m girls aged 15–19 years undergo unsafe abortions every year. Moreover, about 2m adolescents are living with human immune virus (HIV) globally, and over 41 percent of new HIV infections in every year occur among adolescents. Purpose : to explore adolescent barriers to accessing reproductive health services in developing countries. Method : Apprasial studies program using Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) data sources obtained from PubMed with year period of 2009 – 2019. Results : inadequate space, no privacy, limited service hours, poor service attitude, lack of information, distance of clinics, high transportation costs, clinics aimed at married couples. lack of human resources, parental support, peer influence, religion and weak community traditions for adolescent health interventions also trigger adolescents not to access reproductive health clinics. Conclusion : adolescent barriers to accessing reproductive health services are facility level, personal level, service provider level and community level.