Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 23;17(1):5.
doi: 10.1186/s12914-017-0113-7.

Perceptions of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights: a cross-sectional study in Lahore District, Pakistan

Sarosh Iqbal  1 , Rubeena Zakar  1 , Muhammad Zakria Zakar  1 , Florian Fischer  2
Affiliations

Perceptions of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights: a cross-sectional study in Lahore District, Pakistan

Sarosh Iqbal et al. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. .

Abstract

Background: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a significant aspect of adolescents' growth, safeguarded by SRH rights (SRHR). Despite various global efforts to promote adolescents SRHR (ASRHR), the majority of adolescents still lack awareness and autonomy to access SRH related information and services. This research aimed to explore the knowledge and perceptions of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health rights and highlights key constraints hindering adolescents from accessing and exercising SRHR in the district of Lahore, Pakistan.

Methods: The research uses a mixed methods approach including both quantitative and qualitative methods. For quantitative component, household survey was conducted with 600 respondents including adolescents (15-19 years) and their parents/caregivers. A multistage cluster random sampling technique was performed, based on the population proportion of administrative towns in Lahore district, Pakistan. A structured interview schedule was used to collect data. Quantitative data were collected by a standardized quantitative questionnaire; analysis was performed using SPSS version 21. For qualitative data collection, 12 in-depth interviews with teachers and doctors and four focus group discussions with adolescents were conducted, and analysed using thematic areas.

Results: The research revealed a low level of perception of ASRHR amongst the respondents and identified socio-cultural and structural constraints as the major underlying issues. Although more than half of the respondents were found to be aware of ASRHR, agreed to their importance and were in favour for adolescents to have access to requisite information, nonetheless they believed that adolescents had limited ability to exercise these rights.

Conclusions: The research found a low level of perception amongst adolescents and their parents/caregivers about ASRHR in Lahore district emphasising the rights-based approach. There is an urgent need to design specific policies and educational programmes to promote healthy practices. Research is recommended to inform and advocate Punjab Government and communities, including partners, teachers, doctors, religious scholars and media groups, to empower adolescents through health education. This can be achieved through the inclusion of SRH topics in educational curricula, establishing a virtual knowledge centre, encouraging debate competitions, and organising orientation sessions for professionals/experts and community etc.

Keywords: Adolescents; Perception; Rights; SRHR; Sexual and reproductive health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Respondents awareness about each of adolescents sexual and reproductive health and rights
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Respondents views on importance for adolescents to know about ASRHR
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Burke JP, Coles SM, Meglio DG, Gibson JE, Handschin MS, Lau M, Marcell VA, Tebb PK, Urbach K. Sexual and reproductive health care: A position paper of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. J Adolesc Health. 2014;54:491–496. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.01.010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. International Conference on Population and Development. United Nations Population Fund. 1994. http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/ICPD%20PoA%20English.pdf. Accessed 2 May 2015.
    1. United Nations. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – The Fourth World Conference on Women. 1995. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/pdf/BDPfA%20E.pdf. Accessed 2 May 2015.
    1. Oronje RN, Crichton J, Theobald S, Lithur NO, Ibisom L. Operationalising sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa: constraints, dilemmas and strategies. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2011;11(Suppl.3):8. doi: 10.1186/1472-698X-11-S3-S8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. International Planned Parenthood Federation . Charter of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 1994. London: IPPF Regent’s College, Inner Circle, Regent’s Park; 1996.

LinkOut - more resources