Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda
Plain English summary Communication between parents and children about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during the early adolescence stage (10–14 years) plays a significant role in creating positive reproductive health outcomes in later adolescence and adulthood. We conducted surveys in rural ar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14561-3 |
| _version_ | 1811219381480325120 |
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| author | Cecilia Akatukwasa Viola N. Nyakato Dorcus Achen Elizabeth Kemigisha Daniel Atwine Wendo Mlahagwa Stella Neema Gad Ndaruhutse Ruzaaza Gily Coene Godfrey Z. Rukundo Kristien Michielsen |
| author_facet | Cecilia Akatukwasa Viola N. Nyakato Dorcus Achen Elizabeth Kemigisha Daniel Atwine Wendo Mlahagwa Stella Neema Gad Ndaruhutse Ruzaaza Gily Coene Godfrey Z. Rukundo Kristien Michielsen |
| author_sort | Cecilia Akatukwasa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plain English summary Communication between parents and children about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during the early adolescence stage (10–14 years) plays a significant role in creating positive reproductive health outcomes in later adolescence and adulthood. We conducted surveys in rural areas of Mbarara district among 218 pairs of caregivers and their children aged 10–14 years between January and February 2020. The purpose of the study was to understand whether there is communication between the two, and how comfortable they felt having discussions about SRH. We also asked caregivers and their children about their knowledge of SRH, and how they generally felt about SRH for young people. This study, however, reports only results from caregivers. We found that, on average, caregivers discussed 4 of the 10 SRH topics explored in this survey with their child, and that the majority of the caregivers reported being very comfortable discussing SRH—especially general health and bodily hygiene—with their children. On the whole, we found that caregivers’ SRH communication was largely influenced by their comfort with discussing SRH with their adolescent child. The level of comfort was influenced by the number of young adolescents living in a household. However, there is no clear justification for this finding from existing literature. In conclusion, there is a need for interventions that facilitate improvement of communication on SRH between parents/caregivers and young adolescents. These should focus on improving comfort levels by promoting communication skills for caregivers and emphasizing value clarification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:26:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-87a0bd089ce04106b4d46a1dcdeaa982 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:26:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-87a0bd089ce04106b4d46a1dcdeaa9822022-12-22T03:42:12ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582022-11-0122111410.1186/s12889-022-14561-3Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western UgandaCecilia Akatukwasa0Viola N. Nyakato1Dorcus Achen2Elizabeth Kemigisha3Daniel Atwine4Wendo Mlahagwa5Stella Neema6Gad Ndaruhutse Ruzaaza7Gily Coene8Godfrey Z. Rukundo9Kristien Michielsen10International Centre for Reproductive Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent UniversityFaculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyCentre of Expertise Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality, Vrije Universitet BrusselsDepartment of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyInternational Centre for Reproductive Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent UniversityPlain English summary Communication between parents and children about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during the early adolescence stage (10–14 years) plays a significant role in creating positive reproductive health outcomes in later adolescence and adulthood. We conducted surveys in rural areas of Mbarara district among 218 pairs of caregivers and their children aged 10–14 years between January and February 2020. The purpose of the study was to understand whether there is communication between the two, and how comfortable they felt having discussions about SRH. We also asked caregivers and their children about their knowledge of SRH, and how they generally felt about SRH for young people. This study, however, reports only results from caregivers. We found that, on average, caregivers discussed 4 of the 10 SRH topics explored in this survey with their child, and that the majority of the caregivers reported being very comfortable discussing SRH—especially general health and bodily hygiene—with their children. On the whole, we found that caregivers’ SRH communication was largely influenced by their comfort with discussing SRH with their adolescent child. The level of comfort was influenced by the number of young adolescents living in a household. However, there is no clear justification for this finding from existing literature. In conclusion, there is a need for interventions that facilitate improvement of communication on SRH between parents/caregivers and young adolescents. These should focus on improving comfort levels by promoting communication skills for caregivers and emphasizing value clarification.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14561-3Sexual and reproductive healthCaregiver–child communicationCaregiverYoung adolescentSexuality educationUganda |
| spellingShingle | Cecilia Akatukwasa Viola N. Nyakato Dorcus Achen Elizabeth Kemigisha Daniel Atwine Wendo Mlahagwa Stella Neema Gad Ndaruhutse Ruzaaza Gily Coene Godfrey Z. Rukundo Kristien Michielsen Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda BMC Public Health Sexual and reproductive health Caregiver–child communication Caregiver Young adolescent Sexuality education Uganda |
| title | Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda |
| title_full | Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda |
| title_short | Level and comfort of caregiver–young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health: a cross-sectional survey in south-western Uganda |
| title_sort | level and comfort of caregiver young adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health a cross sectional survey in south western uganda |
| topic | Sexual and reproductive health Caregiver–child communication Caregiver Young adolescent Sexuality education Uganda |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14561-3 |
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