Early adolescents’ knowledge of anatomy, sexual characteristics and contraception from reproductive health education in Bagamoyo, Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background/Aims Adolescent girls in Tanzania may drop out of school if they experience an unwanted pregnancy. Evidence shows that sex education can improve adolescents’ understanding of issues related to intercourse, pregnancy and contraception, but this education is lacking in Tanzania. In order to improve sex education in Tanziania, this study investigated early adolescents’ knowledge of anatomy, changes during puberty, pregnancy, contraception and safety. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 10−14-year-old students in a primary school in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. A questionnaire was used to gather data on participants’ knowledge of fundamental anatomy and physiology, sexual characteristics and contraception. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, with P<0.05 used to determine significance. Results A total of 111 students (44 girls, 67 boys, from the fifth and sixth grades) participated. Significantly more boys than girls had begun talking to classmates about steady girl/boyfriends across both grades (P=0.003). The participants’ understanding of basic anatomy (including the functions of the heart, lungs and digestive system) was mostly high, although they scored low in some areas (pain, dentistry and facial muscles). When asked about pregnancy, contraception and safety, significantly more boys than girls could correctly identify appropriate contraception for teenagers (P=0.01). When analysed by grade, the boys’ grade had a significant impact on whether they correctly answered the questions on pregnancy (P=0.001) and contraception (P=0.001), but there were no differences in answers between girls of different grades. Conclusions Girls’ knowledge of pregnancy, contraception and safety was significantly lower than the boys, and despite beginning sex education in sixth grade, no significant differences in were observed between the fifth and sixth grade answers by the girls. The comprehensive sexual education programme for adolescent girls in Tanzania needs urgent improvement.