Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Salima Meherali, Bisi Adewale, Sonam Ali, Megan Kennedy, Bukola (Oladunni) Salami, Solina Richter, Phil E. Okeke-Ihejirika, Parveen Ali, Kênia Lara da Silva, Samuel Adjorlolo, Lydia Aziato, Stephen Owusu Kwankye and Zohra Lassi
Additional contact information
Salima Meherali: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Bisi Adewale: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Sonam Ali: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Megan Kennedy: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Bukola (Oladunni) Salami: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Solina Richter: College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada
Phil E. Okeke-Ihejirika: Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Parveen Ali: Division of Nursing and Midwifery, Health Sciences School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2LA, UK
Kênia Lara da Silva: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, MG, Brazil
Samuel Adjorlolo: Department of Mental Health Nursing, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 43, Ghana
Lydia Aziato: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 43, Ghana
Stephen Owusu Kwankye: College of Humanities, Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 43, Ghana
Zohra Lassi: Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-23

Abstract: Adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are struggling with accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and COVID-19 has escalated the problem. The purpose of this review was to identify and assess the existing literature on the impact of the pandemic on SRH needs and access to services by adolescents in LMICs. A scoping review was conducted to collate findings on the topic. Searches were performed on eight databases. Data were extracted and categorized into various themes. After removing duplicates and performing a full-text reading of all articles, nine articles were included in our review. Our findings generated several themes related to adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include (1) limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, (2) school closure and increased rate of early marriages, (3) sexual or intimate partner violence during COVID-19, (4) disruption in maternity care, (5) adolescents’ involvement in risky or exploitative work, (6) intervention to improve sexual and reproductive health services during COVID-19, and (7) policy development related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Several recommendations were made on policies—for instance, the use of telemedicine and community-based programs as a way to deliver SRH services to adolescents during and after a pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; adolescents; sexual health; reproductive health; health services; access; interventions; low- and middle-income countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13221/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13221/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13221-:d:703122

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().