Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Blood Blockages and Scolding Nurses: Barriers to Adolescent Contraceptive Use in South Africa
Reproductive Health Matters, Volume 14, No. 27, Year 2006
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
A third of adolescent girls in South Africa become pregnant before the age of 20, despite contraception being free and mostly accessible. This qualitative study was undertaken in Limpopo Province in 1997 on the barriers to adolescent girls accessing clinic services for contraception. Thirty-five in-depth interviews and five group discussions were conducted with girls aged 14-20, and interviews with nursing staff at 14 clinics. Many of the girls described pressure from male partners and family members to have a baby or prove their fertility. Other barriers to sustained contraceptive use included medically inaccurate notions about how conception occurs and fears about the effects of contraception on fertility and menstruation, which were not taken seriously by nurses. Nurses' attempts to stigmatise teenage sexuality, their scolding and harsh treatment of adolescent girls, and their unwillingness to acknowledge adolescents' experiences as contraceptive users, undermined the effective use of contraception by girls. Youth need better information on reproductive physiology and sexual health, and detailed information on contraception. Tools to enhance the accuracy and availability of knowledge in the clinic setting have a role, but need to be introduced along with initiatives to ensure that services are adolescent-friendly and do not stigmatise adolescent sexual activity. © 2006 Reproductive Health Matters.
Authors & Co-Authors
Wood, Kate
United Kingdom, London
Ucl Institute of Education
Jewkes, R. K.
South Africa, Tygerberg
South African Medical Research Council
Statistics
Citations: 358
Authors: 2
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/S0968-8080(06)27231-8
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Maternal And Child Health
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Study Approach
Qualitative
Study Locations
South Africa
Participants Gender
Male
Female