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. 2019 Mar 28;19(1):195.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-3960-1.

Exploring adolescents and young people's candidacy for utilising health services in a rural district, South Africa

Busisiwe Nkosi  1 , Janet Seeley  2   3 , Nothando Ngwenya  2 , S Lerato Mchunu  2 , Dumile Gumede  2 , Jane Ferguson  2   3 , Aoife M Doyle  3
Affiliations

Exploring adolescents and young people's candidacy for utilising health services in a rural district, South Africa

Busisiwe Nkosi et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: We use the 'candidacy framework' to describe adolescents' and young people's (AYP) experiences of health services in a rural KwaZulu-Natal district, South Africa.

Methods: A qualitative approach was used including group discussions, in-depth and key informant interviews with a purposive sample of AYP (n = 70), community leaders (n = 15), school health teams (n = 10), and health service providers (n = 6).

Results: Findings indicate tacit understanding among AYP that they are candidates for general health services. However, HIV stigma, apprehensions and misconceptions about sexual and reproductive health, and socio-cultural views which disapprove of AYP pre-marital sex undermine their candidacy for sexual and reproductive services.

Conclusion: Consideration and understanding of the vulnerabilities and reasons AYP exclude themselves will inform interventions to address their health needs. AYP's participation in the design of health services will increase their acceptability and encourage uptake of services.

Keywords: Candidacy; Health service utilisation; South Africa; Vulnerability; Young people.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, University of KwaZulu-Natal approved the study (approval number, BE472/15) and the Ethics of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, (Ref 11,092). Written informed consent was obtained prior to data collection. For participants < 18 years in addition to obtaining their assent, their parents or a caregiver (where applicable) gave written consent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Population Intervention Programme Surveillance Area, (PIPSA), (used with permission) Africa Health Research Institute. Map of the Population Intervention Population Surveillance Area (PIPSA), boundaries in which the Africa Health Research Institute operates (in grey); the rest of Hlabisa sub-district (in light grey). The distribution of the clinics in which the study was conducted are shown in crosses, and Africa Health Research Institute in a triangle
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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