Views and attitudes of university students in Upper Egypt towards youth health centers

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - 2020
Mohamed M. Abd El-Mawgod1, Shimaa A. Elghazally2, Heba M. Mohammed3, Mariam Roshdy Elkayat2, Doaa Osman3
1Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt
2Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
3Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

Tóm tắt

AbstractBackgroundA healthy youth is considered the major human resource for any country development. They are suffering from unmet health needs. Considering these needs and their attitude towards the use of youth health center (YHC) services would help to improve both the quality and quantity of these services.ObjectivesTo identify the students’ perceived health needs and their attitude towards use of the YHCs in Assiut University campus, Upper Egypt a cross-sectional study was conducted among 305 randomly selected university students. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.ResultsThe majority of the students (80%) said that youth have special health needs. The most reported needs were psychological support, health education on different topics including reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases, and nutritional services respectively. There was a high perception among surveyed students (71.5%) that the existing health services are inadequate for meeting their needs. Counseling, laboratory services, and premarital examination were the most frequently reported services mentioned by youth to be offered in YHCs. The majority (78.1%) preferred the health provider to be of the same sex. Despite the prevailing conservative culture in Upper Egypt, the students had positive attitude towards availability of sexual and reproductive information and establishment of a YHC in the university campus. A low awareness rate (15.1%) about the already existing YHC in university campus was revealed.ConclusionUniversity students perceived that there are unmet needs for youth-specialized services, mainly for providing sexual and reproductive information, and establishment of an on-campus YHC. The study provides important information for policymakers about the perspectives of youth which should be taken into consideration when new YHC are planned and implemented.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

WHO. Adolescent health and development: World Health Organization: South-East Asia Region 2019. https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/adolescent-health.

HPC. Youth-Friendly Reproductive Health Services Policy Brief 2017. Higher Population Council: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; 2017. https://www.share-net-jordan.org.jo/sites/default/files/Youth%20Friendly%20Reproductive%20Health%20Services_0.pdf.

Ghafari M, Shamsuddin K, Amiri M. Barriers to utilization of health services: perception of postsecondary school Malaysian urban youth. Int J Prev Med. 2014;5(7):805–6.

Afifi M. Adolescents’ use of health services in Alexandria, Egypt: association with mental health problems. East Mediterr Health J. 2004;10(1-2):64–71.

Munthali A, Zakeyo B. Do they match? Adolescents’ realities and needs relating to sexuality and youth friendly service provision in Dowa District, Central Malawi. A report 2011. researchgate.net. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bernie_Zakeyo/publication/262881396_Do_They_Match_Adolescents'_Realities_and_Needs_Relating_to_Sexuality_and_Youth_Friendly_Service_Provision_in_Dowa_District_Central_Malawi/links/0a85e53916e04ce8af000000/Do-They-Match-Adolescents-Realities-and-Needs-Relating-to-Sexuality-and-Youth-Friendly-Service-Provision-in-Dowa-District-Central-Malawi.pdf.

Agampodi S, Agampodi T, Piyaseeli U. Adolescents perception of reproductive health care services in Sri Lanka. BMC Health Serv Res. 2008;8(1):98.

Motuma A, Syre T, Egata G, Kenay A. Utilization of youth friendly services and associated factors among youth in Harar town, east Ethiopia: a mixed method study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016;16(1):272.

Khalaf I, Moghli FA, Froelicher ES. Youth-friendly reproductive health services in Jordan from the perspective of the youth: a descriptive qualitative study. Scand J Caring Sci. 2010;24(2):321–31.

Oraby D, Soliman C, Elkamhawi S, Hassan R. Assessment of youth friendly clinics in teaching hospitals in Egypt. Fam Heal Int Assess Rep 2008. www.fhi360.org.

SPSS. SPSS Inc. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS), version 15.0. Chicago: SPSS Inc; 2005.

Oraby D. Sexual and reproductive health among young people in Egypt: the role and contribution of youth-friendly services. Sex Educ. 2013;13(4):470–7.

FHI-UNPA (Family Health International- United Nations Population Fund) Meeting adolescent reproductive in Egypt. Final report, 2009. https://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/Meeting%20Adolescent%20Reproductive%20Health%20Needs%20in%20Egypt%20UNFPA.pdf.

DeJong J, El-Khoury G. Reproductive health of Arab young people. BMJ. 2006;333(7573):849–51.

WHO. Adolescent responsive health systems. World Health Organization; 2019. https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/health_services/en/.

UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). Sexual and reproductive health: a core component of universal health coverage. New York: UNFPA Arab States Regional Office position paper; 2014. Available from https://arabstates.unfpa.org /en/ publications / position-paper-sexual-and-reproductive-health-arab-states. Accessed 13 Aug 2019.

Atuyambe L, Kibira P, Bukenya J, Muhumuza C, Apolot RR, Mulogo E. Understanding sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents: evidence from a formative evaluation in Wakiso district, Uganda. Reprod Health. 2015;12(1):35.

Mohammadi M, Farideh K, Zare S, Tehrani F, Ramezankhani A, Alaeddini A. Reproductive kowledge, atitudes and behavior among adolescent males in Tehran, Iran. Int Fam Plan Perspect. 2006;32(1):35–44.

Moodi M, Miri M, Sharifirad GR. The effect of instruction on knowledge and attitude of couples attending pre-marriage counseling classes. J Educ Health Promot. 2013;2(52).

Mosavi SA, Babazadeh R, Najmabadi KM, Shariati M. Assessing Iranian adolescent girls’ needs for sexual and reproductive health information. J Adolesc Health. 2014;55(1):107–13.

Gausman J, Othman A, Hamad IL, Dabobe M, Daas I, Langer A. How do Jordanian and Syrian youth living in Jordan envision their sexual and reproductive health needs? A concept mapping study protocol. BMJ. 2019;9(1):1–6.

Braeken D, Rondinelli I. Sexual and reproductive health needs of young people: Matching needs with systems. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2012;119:S60–S3.

FHI-UNFPA (Family Health International- United Nations Population Fund) 2008. Assessment of Youth Friendly Clinics in Teaching Hospitals in Egypt. https://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/Assessment%20of%20Youth%25.

UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). Sexual and reproductive health for all: Reducing poverty, advancing development and protecting human rights United Nations. UNFPA; 2010. http://www.unfpa.org/publications/.

Simbar M, Ramezani F, Hashem Z. The needs of reproductive health needs of university students (in Persian). J Qazvin Univ Med Sci. 2003;7(4):5–13.

DeJong J, Shepard B, Roudi-Fahimi F, Ashford L. Young people’s sexual and reproductive health in the middle east and north Africa. PRB (Population Reference Bureau) Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in MENA; 2007. https://www.prb.org/menayouthreproductivehealth/.

Senderowitz J, Hainsworth G, Solter C. Rapid assessment of youth friendly reproductive health services. Pathfinder Interrnational. 2003;4. https://www.pathfinder.org/publications/rapid-assessment-youth-friendly-reproductive-health-.

Hoggart L, Phillips J. Teenage pregnancies that end in abortion: what can they tell us about contraceptive risk taking? J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care. 2011;37(2):97–102.

Bankole A, Malarcher S. Removing barriers to adolescents’ access to contraceptive information and services. Stud Fam Plann. 2010;41(2):117–24.

Mohammadi F, Kohan S, Mostafavi F, Gholami A. The Stigma of reproductive health services utilization by unmarried women. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2016;18(3):e24231.

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Thông tin tác giả