Assessment of Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge of Adolescents in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, National data indicates that the age group 15 to 24 years contributes the highest (40%) to all reported new cases of HIV and not much is been done to understand and address adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) concerns. New evidences are required to design cost effective programs on ASRH. This study was aimed at assessing in-school adolescents' knowledge on SRH and associated factors. The study was a cross sectional Study conducted among 250 adolescents in secondary schools in Makurdi selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Pretested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Knowledge was assessed via an 18-point knowledge scale and the data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 software. The mean age of the respondents was 15.15±1.82 years. More than half of the respondents had good knowledge of ASRH (56.8%) while 43.2% had poor knowledge. The main sources of information on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) were Parents (90.8%), School Teacher (82.4%), Friends (35.2%) and Social Media (34.4%). Respondents in the senior classes were more knowledgeable about SRH while age and having a girl/boyfriend affected their knowledge. In conclusion, on the adolescents' knowledge on ASRH, more than half of them had good knowledge, however more measures need to be put in place to reach the adolescent population with poor knowledge which will ultimately help to prevent risky sexual behaviors.