Generating demand and community support for sexual and reproductive health services for young people: A review of the Literature and Programs

Abstract

BackgroundThis review investigates the effectiveness of interventions aimed at generating demand for and use of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services by young people; and interventions aimed at generating wider community support for their use.MethodsReports and publications were found in the peer-reviewed and grey literature through academic search engines; web searches; the bibliographies of known conference proceedings and papers; and consultation with experts. The studies were reviewed against a set of inclusion criteria and those that met these were explored in more depth.ResultsThe evidence-base for interventions aimed at both generating demand and community support for SRH services for young people was found under-developed and many available studies do not provide strong evidence. However, the potential of several methods to increase youth uptake has been demonstrated, this includes the linking of school education programs with youth friendly services, life skills approaches and social marketing and franchising. There is also evidence that the involvement of key community gatekeepers such as parents and religious leaders is vital to generating wider community support. In general a combined multi-component approach seems most promising with several success stories to build on.ConclusionsMany areas for further research have been highlighted and there is a great need for more rigorous evaluation of programmes in this area. In particular, further evaluation of individual components within a multi-component approach is needed to elucidate the most effective interventions.

Reaching Youth With Out-of-Facility HIV and Reproductive Health Services: A Systematic Review

“…Although the focus of this review is on health service delivery, certainly many other interventions, such as health education [3,74], are also needed to improve health among marginalized youth. Although many of the studies in this review included some health education component, only Townsend et al's analysis of a project in Monterrey, Mexico provided some insight into the relative importance of the components [55].…”

“…These approaches aim to reach youth where they are-schools, workplaces, detention facilities, youth centers, on the street, etc. Assessments have been made of such community-based messaging approaches, identifying successes, failures, and gaps in knowledge regarding their effectiveness [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. In addition to improving knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, access to HIV and reproductive health services and commodities is also vital to reducing mortality and improving the health of youth-both in terms of their current and future adult health status.…”

Community embedded reproductive health interventions for adolescents in Latin America: development and evaluation of a complex multi-centre intervention

“…contraception use. It is clear that young people need both accurate information on SRH, as well as the ability to navigate the overwhelming amount of inaccurate information in order to make healthy and well-informed choices [24]. …”

The Tarunya Project’s efforts to improve the quality of adolescent reproductive and sexual health services in Jharkhand state, India: a post-hoc evaluation

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