Needs assessment on sexuality and reproductive health education of secondary school adolescents in Yala

Abstract

In 2010 more than 2000 illegally aborted fetuses were found at the Phai Ngern temple in Bangkok. Sexuality and reproductive health should be provided for adolescents to develop their life skills. Yala is a province in the southernmost of Thailand where have some problems on learning system because of the Southern unrest. Students and teachers were killed and many schools were shut down. Cross-sectional study aims to study socio-demographic, risk behaviors acceptance, attitudes toward premarital sex, current met need and felt needs on sexuality and reproductive health education of 393 secondary school adolescents in Yala by self-administered questionnaires. The results found that most subjects were female (60.8%), age mean 17.3 years old, their religion is Buddhism (64.6%), studied in Grade 12 (36.6%), stayed in their home as a current resident (74.6%) and most of them lived with their father/mother (69.2%). They most discussed about sexual and reproductive health with their friends (81.9%). They accepted risk behaviors in moderate level (64.1%). Most students had neutral attitudes toward premarital sex in neutral level (71.2%). Chi-square was used to analyze and found that person who students discussed with, risk behaviors acceptance, attitudes toward premarital sex, sources of information, current met need on reproductive and sexuality health education were significantly relation to their felt needs on reproductive health education (p-value <0.05) and religion, person who students discussed with, risk behaviors acceptance, sources of information, current met need on reproductive and sexuality health education were significantly relation to their felt needs on sexuality health education (p-value <0.05). Learning programs should be conducted to make students be aware of risk and complication outcome. Further study, the qualitative study should be implementation.