Abstract
BackgroundInterest in the reproductive health of adolescents continues to grow throughout the world. Few studies had explored the reproductive health knowledge, sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion among secondary school students in North Eastern states of Nigeria. The objectives of this descriptive survey were to collect data to plan appropriate interventions that meet the reproductive health knowledge, service and skills needs of students in Bauchi, Borno and Gombe states.MethodsFace-to-face interviews were conducted for 624 consenting students who were randomly selected from eighteen secondary schools using an 83-item structured questionnaire. Data were collected on demographic profile, reproductive health knowledge, sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion.ResultsThe mean age of the respondents was 16.5 years. There were slightly more males (52%) than females (48%). Students' knowledge about reproductive health was generally low even though girls had better knowledge than boys. Thirteen percent of the entire students had had sexual experience; significantly more males (19%) than females (6%) had done so (p < 0.001).Among boys the age at sexual debut ranged from 10–26 with a mean of 15.7 and median of 16. By contrast, the age at first sex among girls ranged from 10 to 18 years with a mean and median of 16.1 and 17 years respectively. Only 24% of those who were sexually active used a condom during their last sexual encounter. Overall 11% of the students reported that they had been tricked into having sex, 9% had experienced unwanted touch of breast and backside, and 5% reported rape.ConclusionStudents low reproductive health knowledge and involvement in risky sexual activities predispose them to undesirable reproductive health outcomes.
Highlights
Interest in the reproductive health of adolescents continues to grow throughout the world
The fact that adolescents and other young persons are disproportionately affected by the reproductive health morbidity such as abortion, sexually transmitted infections (STI) including HIV/AIDS draws attention to the need of appropriate interventions
The major ethnic groups in the areas are Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri who live in major towns in the area including Bauchi, Maiduguri and Gombe, which serve as the administrative capitals of the Bauchi, Borno and Gombe states respectively
Summary
Interest in the reproductive health of adolescents continues to grow throughout the world. The fact that adolescents and other young persons are disproportionately affected by the reproductive health morbidity such as abortion, sexually transmitted infections (STI) including HIV/AIDS draws attention to the need of appropriate interventions. Over half of all new HIV infections in Africa in 2005 were among young persons aged 14–25 years with the worst hit being young women [3]. These data underscore the need to target adolescents with appropriate interventions that address the contextual factors such as gender roles and poverty that place them at risk and individual factors including lack of access to knowledge, inadequate communication and life skills that adolescents need to negotiate safe sex
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