Narratives of young black men on barriers to health care and poor health care seeking behaviours at a university setting: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Institutions of higher learning provide education, training, independence and life-long skills for young people. However, for students to achieve their optimal growth and intellectual development they need to be healthy psychologically, mentally and physically. This can be achieved through the development of effective health programs for all university students. This qualitative study was designed to explore Black male students’ perspectives and experiences regarding the utilization of on-campus health services at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. METHODS: The study population was selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using four focus group discussions (FGDs) with 36 participants and three key informant interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify the key patterns and themes that emerged from the data. RESULTS: Emerging themes included poor knowledge and awareness, negative perceptions and attitudes, fear and lack of privacy, and negative experiences leading to poor access and utilization of campus health services. The findings suggested a need for more advocacy and awareness campaigns especially among first year students, campaigns for normalization of sexual health, addressing HIV stigma and discrimination, providing youth friendly services to improve students’ use of sexual health services, and ultimately, their overall health and well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The findings give valuable insights from male students on the barriers and potential solutions to campus health services and highlight where improvements can be directed to increase access and use of health services by the study population. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-021-06470-9.