Female adolescents’ perspective about reproductive health education needs: a mixed methods study with explanatory sequential design

Abstract

Abstract Background: One of the most important and basic needs of adolescent girls is reproductive health services and education, which is different from that required by adults. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine reproductive health education needs from the perspective of adolescent girls living in urban and rural areas, as well as to explore adolescents’ understanding of reproductive health needs. Subjects: The first phase was a cross-sectional study conducted on 1274 female adolescents. In the second phase, 77 girls in the form of 11 groups participated in focused group discussions. Methods: This sequential explanatory mixed methods study using follow-up variants was conducted in two phases. Questionnaires, including items on socio-demographic characteristics and reproductive health needs from adolescents’ perspectives, were completed using the self-administered method. Results: The quantitative results of the study revealed city and village girls’ perspectives on reproductive health education needs. These results showed that village adolescents were nearly 1.5–2 times more in favor of a same sex counselor, reproductive health group education, and the need for sexual health education than city adolescents. A review of the transcripts of the qualitative phase led to the extraction of two themes including the characteristics of the reproductive health educator and priorities of reproductive health education, which explains the adolescent girls’ understanding of reproductive health education needs. Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm the importance of determining reproductive health education needs from the perspective of adolescent girls. The present study shows how a sequential mixed design can be used for a better understanding of reproductive health needs of adolescent girls. The results of this study can be used in health research, education, policy making, and planning associated with adolescent health.