“Peer” Educator Initiatives for Adolescent Reproductive Health Projects in Indonesia

Abstract

Since the ICPD in 1994, the Government of Indonesia has struggled with the challenge of providing sexual and reproductive health education to adolescents. Following an attempt at a family-centred approach, a pilot project was carried out in Central and East Java to train peer educators, coordinated by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN). A total of 80 peer educators (male/female teams) carried out small-group information sessions in ten different districts. Over 1,300 adolescents attended in all. Forty peer counsellors in 20 teams then carried out five outreach sessions each in their communities, attended by nearly 4,000 adults and adolescents. Educators chosen were older in age, knowledge level, authority and communication skills than adolescents, but were well accepted as mentors. Adolescents wanted to know how to deal with sexual relationships and feelings, unwanted pregnancy and STDs. With 42 million Indonesian adolescents needing information, the government cannot produce enough manuals to satisfy demand. New strategies are required to put information in the public domain, e.g. via the media. The approach described in this paper would probably be beyond the staffing and resource capacity of most districts in Indonesia. Nonetheless, it shows that there was great enthusiasm across a variety of communities for efforts to educate young people on protecting their reproductive health. A 2004 Reproductive Health Matters. All rights reserved.

Premenstrual Syndrome and Dysmenorrhea: Urban-Rural and Multiethnic Differences in Perception, Impacts, and Treatment Seeking

“…4 It has been postulated that manifestation of menstrual symptoms is associated with attitudes toward menstruation. 5,15 In a conservative, rural society, menstruation is considered shameful and a hidden topic. In spite of these negative attitudes, the levels of discomfort and pain from The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.…”

Perbedaan Pendidikan Kelompok Sebaya tentang Pendewasaan Usia Perkawinan di Perkotaan dan Perdesaan

“…Hasil penelitian di Sampang dan Pamekasan, Pulau Madura yang sangat konservatif dalam hal agama menjelaskan bahwa para pemimpin agama dan kelompok pemuda sangat mendukung pendidikan kelompok sebaya tentang kesehatan reproduksi dan seksualitas karena masyarakat sangat memerlukan informasi tentang isu-isu tersebut. 21 Dukungan dari pemimpin agama, kelompok pemuda dan orang tua dapat membantu pelaksanaan pendidikan kelompok sebaya untuk menyebarluaskan informasi tentang pendewasaan usia perkawinan ini.…”

Psychosocial correlates of condom usage in a developing country

“…The current study shows that age at first sexual intercourse was 15.4 years for Jamaicans, indicating a need to make contraceptives more freely available to adolescents. Young people in Jamaica are not atypical in engaging in unprotected and premarital sexual relationships, given that this phenomenon is also found in Thailand, 40,41 Indonesia, 16 the wider Caribbean, [7][8][9]15,42 Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and other African nations, [12][13][14]43,44 as well as some Latin American countries. 45 According to Crawford et al, 46 80% of pregnancies among adolescents were unwanted, and 40% of women in Jamaica were pregnant before the age of 20 years.…”

“…While the discourse sometimes takes a moral trajectory, the designers and debaters are older than the cohort who are engaged in the various sexual acts, and have missed the sexual reality of adolescents. 16,17 Hence, withholding methods of contraception from adolescents or making them feel embarrassed asking about or purchasing contraceptives will not make them cease their premarital sexual behavior, reduce rates of unwanted pregnancy, decrease rates of STIs including HIV and/or AIDs, and will definitely not influence them to get married and abstain from sex based on the morals of the older generations. One study highlights the sociosexual reality of contemporary society.…”