Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Service Availability and Delivery in Public Health Facilities of Plateau State Nigeria

Esther Awazzi Envuladu, Karlijn Massar and John de Wit
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Esther Awazzi Envuladu: Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Jos, Jos P.M.B 2084, Nigeria
Karlijn Massar: Department of Work & Social Psychology, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
John de Wit: Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: To assess the availability, accessibility, appropriateness and quality of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services in primary health care (PHC) facilities in Plateau State, Nigeria, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 230 PHC facilities across the three senatorial zones of Plateau state. Primary data were obtained through face-to-face interviews with heads of facilities from December 2018 to May 2019. An adapted questionnaire from the World Health Organization (WHO) was used, covering five domains, to ascertain the extent that ASRH services were available and provided. Very few PHC facilities in the state had space (1.3%) and equipment (12.2%) for ASRH services. The proportion of PHC facilities offering counselling on sexuality was 11.3%, counselling on safe sex was 17%, counselling on contraception was 11.3% and management of gender-based violence was 3%. Most facilities were not operating at convenient times for adolescents. Only 2.6% PHC facilities had posters targeted at ASRH and just 7% of the PHCs had staff trained on ASRH. These findings underscore that the majority of PHC facilities surveyed in Plateau State, Nigeria, lacked dedicated space, basic equipment, and essential sexual and reproductive health care services for ASRH, which in turn negatively affect general public health and specifically, maternal health indices in Nigeria. Structural changes, including implementation of policy and adequate additional training of healthcare workers, are necessary to effectively promote ASRH.

Keywords: adolescent; sexual and reproductive health; availability; service delivery; Nigeria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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