Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Information Strategies for Adolescent Girls in African Cultural Communities in South Africa

Abstract

The study used a mixed-methods research design to investigate appropriate   information strategies for adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) in South Africa, with special reference to Barolong Boo Ratshidi people around Mahikeng, North-West Province. The socio-cultural factors examined included socio-cultural perceptions on adolescence, the adolescent girls’ appropriate knowledge and information spaces for SRH, and parental socio-cultural influence on adolescent utilisation of mainstream healthcare services. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods the study revealed rampant premarital sexual intercourse among adolescents, with exposure to several SRH risks; the link between socio-cultural factors and SRH was evidenced in society’s values, norms, and belief systems. Friends were the main confidantes for information on SRH. The findings imply that development and support for sexual and reproductive healthcare information strategies for adolescent girls in African cultural communities should take into account the influence of socio-cultural factors for effective access to appropriate SRH services. The recommendations included: developing appropriate programmes to enlighten parents, adolescents, and other community stakeholders; providing adolescents with accurate information on the dimensions of SRH, especially their interaction with  socio-cultural factors; the need to harmonise SRH dimensions with socio-cultural factors in education, so that adolescents are not confused; empowering adolescent homes as primary socialisation agencies for positive SRH development among adolescents; developing comprehensive SRH strategies, involving medical, social, cultural, gendered and age-specific aspects.