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A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa

(1) Background: There is growing concern in South Africa about risky sexual behaviour, sexual transmitted infections (STIs), and unplanned pregnancy among young people. Many sexually active students engage in several risky behaviours, including sex with multiple sexual partners, low condom use, and...

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Autores principales: Mazibuko, Ntombenhle E., Saruchera, Munyaradzi, Okonji, Emeka Francis
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9916358/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36767788
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032418
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author Mazibuko, Ntombenhle E.
Saruchera, Munyaradzi
Okonji, Emeka Francis
author_facet Mazibuko, Ntombenhle E.
Saruchera, Munyaradzi
Okonji, Emeka Francis
author_sort Mazibuko, Ntombenhle E.
collection PubMed
description (1) Background: There is growing concern in South Africa about risky sexual behaviour, sexual transmitted infections (STIs), and unplanned pregnancy among young people. Many sexually active students engage in several risky behaviours, including sex with multiple sexual partners, low condom use, and low contraceptive use. This paper qualitatively explores factors influencing non-use of sexual reproductive health services by students at Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa (MUT). (2) Methods: Data was collected through 20 in-depth interviews with MUT students and subjected to inductive thematic analysis. Informed consent was obtained before all data collection. (3) Results: The main themes identified were risky sexual behaviours translating to multiple intimate partners, perceived quality of condom use, perceived benefits of contraceptives, negotiating safer sex with partners, developing a greater sense of autonomy, alcohol and drug abuse, perceived benefits of health education provided by the MUT, and lack of open communication. (4) Conclusions: The findings suggest that university students need multi-faceted interventions designed to address challenges with risky sexual behaviours including knowledge and benefits of condom and contraceptive use to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancies, as well as providing psychosocial interventions to support these students’ autonomy.
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spelling pubmed-99163582023-02-11 A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa Mazibuko, Ntombenhle E. Saruchera, Munyaradzi Okonji, Emeka Francis Int J Environ Res Public Health Article (1) Background: There is growing concern in South Africa about risky sexual behaviour, sexual transmitted infections (STIs), and unplanned pregnancy among young people. Many sexually active students engage in several risky behaviours, including sex with multiple sexual partners, low condom use, and low contraceptive use. This paper qualitatively explores factors influencing non-use of sexual reproductive health services by students at Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa (MUT). (2) Methods: Data was collected through 20 in-depth interviews with MUT students and subjected to inductive thematic analysis. Informed consent was obtained before all data collection. (3) Results: The main themes identified were risky sexual behaviours translating to multiple intimate partners, perceived quality of condom use, perceived benefits of contraceptives, negotiating safer sex with partners, developing a greater sense of autonomy, alcohol and drug abuse, perceived benefits of health education provided by the MUT, and lack of open communication. (4) Conclusions: The findings suggest that university students need multi-faceted interventions designed to address challenges with risky sexual behaviours including knowledge and benefits of condom and contraceptive use to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancies, as well as providing psychosocial interventions to support these students’ autonomy. MDPI 2023-01-29 /pmc/articles/PMC9916358/ /pubmed/36767788 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032418 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Mazibuko, Ntombenhle E.
Saruchera, Munyaradzi
Okonji, Emeka Francis
A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa
title A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa
title_full A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa
title_fullStr A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa
title_short A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Non-Use of Sexual Reproductive Health Services among University Students in South Africa
title_sort qualitative exploration of factors influencing non-use of sexual reproductive health services among university students in south africa
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9916358/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36767788
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032418
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