Reaching adolescents in rural areas : Exploratory study on factors contributing to low utilisation of family planning services among adolescents in Mangochi district - Malawi

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that providing family planning services to adolescents would not encourage them to indulge in sexual behaviors but would rather help them with information on how to protect themselves if sexually active from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Despite the universal knowledge of at least one modern method of family planning among adolescents in Malawi, use of these methods remains negligible and virtually no in-depth studies have targeted adolescents to explore the situation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the contributing factors to low utilization of family planning services among adolescents in Lungwena area of Mangochi District in Southern Region of Malawi.

Qualitative methods using focus group discussions, individual interviews, key informant interviews plus some general participant observations and limited discourse analysis were used to obtain data for this study.

The study found that adolescents’ utilization of family planning services in Lungwena area is mainly affected by lack of community acceptance to acknowledge adolescents sexual activity. However, norms of the society and messages adolescents are exposed to, through some cultural practices, peers and parents confuse adolescents in the understanding of family planning services in general. As such adolescents are challenged with numerous reproductive health problems in this society. In addition, lack of proper knowledge pertaining to family planning methods, individual perceived barriers and barriers associated with delivery of services inhibit adolescents’ to use the available family planning services.

This is the first study that has used qualitative methods to explore adolescents’ low utilization of family planning services in Mangochi District. Findings suggest that equipping adolescents with proper knowledge and sensitizing the community on unmarried adolescents reproductive health needs would help adolescents to utilize the available family planning services hence protect them from the sexual health problems found by this study.