REPRODUCTIVE-HEALTH SERVICE-UTILIZATION-AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG ADOLESCENTS OF AGES 15-19 STUDENTS IN JIGJIGA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SOMALI REGION EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Although governmental measures and targeted initiatives have been implemented to encourage Ethiopian adolescents to use sexual and reproductive health services, the overall level of use is still relatively low, and there is limited data on how much school-age adolescents really use the reproductive health services. Adolescents who make use of those programs are less likely to have various sexual and reproductive health issues. Objective: To assess the reproductive health services utilization and associated factors among adolescents of age 15–19 students in Jigjiga public schools, Somali region State, Ethiopia from May 5 to June 5, 2023. Methods: School based cross - sectional study design was implemented among 456 high school adolescents. Stratified sampling technique was used along simple random sampling.The study patrcipants was selected by simple random sampling. Self-administered pretested and structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Collected data was codded and entered using Epi data version 3.1, and transferred into SPSS software version 20.0 for further statistical analysis. Bivariate analysis to identify candidate variable for multivariable analysis was done. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine associated factors for reproductive health service utilization. Statistical significance for all tests was declared at p-value < 0.05. Result: Out of the total 456 selected students, 445 were participated in the study with a response rate of 97.6%. Of these respondents, 84 (18.9%), 95%CI (15.1%, 22.2%), of them utilized one of the reproductive health services in the past one year. Sexual reproductive health information and family planning services were utilized by 61(10.3%) and 23(5.2%) of adolescents respectively. Age (AOR =2.18, 95%CI (1.2, 3.8)), marital status (AOR= 2.6, 95%CI (1.4, 4.45), Being grade 11-12 (AOR=1.76, 95%CI (1.03-2.99), history of sexual intercourse (AOR= 2.14, 95%CI (1.2, 3.7), attitude towards reproductive health services (AOR= 1.8, 95%CI (1.01, 3.1), and ever faced reproductive health problem (AOR= 2.1, 95%CI (1.1, 4.08) were significantly associated with reproductive health service utilization. Conclusion: Utilization of adolescent’s reproductive health service among public school students in jigiga was very low. The young should be empowered to have favourable attitudes regarding accessing adolescents’ reproductive health service by the government and other stakeholders, who should also strengthen adolescents health information dissemination methods and also initiating service usage in schools to be addressed by all adolescents.