Empowering adolescent girls, is sexual and reproductive health education a solution?

J Family Med Prim Care. 2021 Jan;10(1):66-71. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1513_20. Epub 2021 Jan 30.

Abstract

Adolescence is a period that is characterized by growth and development rapidly. They have only limited knowledge regarding sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Adolescents girls are more marginalized and face many problems in society. Owing to a lack of knowledge on SRH, they succumb to various situations such as unhealthy menstrual hygiene practices, unwanted sex, teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortions, reproductive tract infections (RTIs), and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV/AIDS. These have adverse effects on their mental health. This article reviews the literature to explore the knowledge, attitude, practices, and life skills regarding SRH among adolescent girls. Need for the inclusion of SRH and life skill education for adolescents in schools, strengthening health care programs, and involvement of various Non-Governmental organizations (NGO for adolescent wellbeing. A Search of relevant publications between 2011 and 2020 was done through multiple electronic databases such as MEDLINE, PUBMED, and Google scholar. A manual search on world health statistics, national programs regarding SRH was done.

Keywords: Adolescent girls; STDs; life skill education (LSE); schools; sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

Publication types

  • Review