Abstract
BackgroundA healthy youth is considered the major human resource for any country development. They are suffering from unmet health needs. Considering these needs and their attitude towards the use of youth health center (YHC) services would help to improve both the quality and quantity of these services.ObjectivesTo identify the students’ perceived health needs and their attitude towards use of the YHCs in Assiut University campus, Upper Egypt a cross-sectional study was conducted among 305 randomly selected university students. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.ResultsThe majority of the students (80%) said that youth have special health needs. The most reported needs were psychological support, health education on different topics including reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases, and nutritional services respectively. There was a high perception among surveyed students (71.5%) that the existing health services are inadequate for meeting their needs. Counseling, laboratory services, and premarital examination were the most frequently reported services mentioned by youth to be offered in YHCs. The majority (78.1%) preferred the health provider to be of the same sex. Despite the prevailing conservative culture in Upper Egypt, the students had positive attitude towards availability of sexual and reproductive information and establishment of a YHC in the university campus. A low awareness rate (15.1%) about the already existing YHC in university campus was revealed.ConclusionUniversity students perceived that there are unmet needs for youth-specialized services, mainly for providing sexual and reproductive information, and establishment of an on-campus YHC. The study provides important information for policymakers about the perspectives of youth which should be taken into consideration when new YHC are planned and implemented.
Highlights
1 Introduction Youth is defined as people aged between 15 and 24 years and they are characterized by unique physical, psychological, social, and emotional changes that put their life at high risk [1]
Among Jordanian youth, for example, knowledge about reproductive health issues was insufficient and they reported their need for reproductive information and qualified services
3 Results The study sample included 305 university students divided nearly equal across the 4 selected faculties (Commerce, Education, Medicine and Veterinary medicine)
Summary
Youth-friendly health centers (YHC) are specialized centers that provide services to young people aged 15– 24 in a safe, confidential, and private environment that. Various factors, such as inaccessibility, inconvenient working hours, unaffordable cost, poor linkages with other relevant services, and lack of youth friendliness, confidentiality, and professional skills, are considered major barriers to proper use of YHCs. Various factors, such as inaccessibility, inconvenient working hours, unaffordable cost, poor linkages with other relevant services, and lack of youth friendliness, confidentiality, and professional skills, are considered major barriers to proper use of YHCs Another important barrier in getting access to SRH is the. A healthy youth is considered the major human resource for any country development They are suffering from unmet health needs. Considering these needs and their attitude towards the use of youth health center (YHC) services would help to improve both the quality and quantity of these services
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