The perception of parents of high school students about adolescent sexual and reproductive needs in Nigeria: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVES: Despite the fact that quality and effective services are provided to meet adolescents’ needs, the perceptions of parents regarding the delivery of these services must be taken into consideration. This aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of parents of High school students on the sexual and reproductive needs of adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: The study employed an exploratory research design using a qualitative approach. METHODS: Participants were selected using purposive sampling technique and a total number of 30 participants were recruited in two States in Nigeria. Data collection was done by means of audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews and data were analyzed using content analysis approach. Descriptive statistics were used to generate participants’ demographic profiles. RESULTS: Almost all (28 of 30) of the participants had a basic understanding of the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents. Majority (90%) stated that parents have a major role to play in counseling and educating their children on sexual and reproductive health issues and others felt is a joint responsibility of teachers and parents. Furthermore, majority (20 of 30) of the participants are not aware of youth friendly services in their communities. However, most of the parents preferred sex education and counseling services for the adolescents above other youth friendly services, as only a few of the participants were in support of distribution of condoms and contraceptives in schools. CONCLUSION: The participants reported that youth friendly health care services are very effective in improving young people’s health, thus they are in support of their implementation.