Sexual And Reproductive Health Services Utilization And Associated Factors Among Streetadolescents In West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2023

Abstract

Background: Street children are estimated in the millions globally and their rapid increase calls for an urgent response. Street children have risky sexual practices, which place them at all kinds of health risks. There is no study done prevalence of sexual and reproductive health services among street adolescents in the study area. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess sexual and reproductive health services utilization and associated factors among street adolescents in West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2023. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July 1 to July 30 in Selected district of West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. A non-probability sampling technique was used to collect data from a sample of 405 street adolescents in seven randomly chosen districts. Participants were selected through the use of snowball sampling, which was used for collecting the necessary data from street adolescents. A pre-tested structured interview administered questionnaires, were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics using frequency and other statistical summary measures were performed to describe the characteristics of youths, while Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to assess the association between independent variables and dependent variables. Statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05%, and adjusted odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval Results: A total of 405 study participants participated in the study yielding a response rate of 95.7%.The utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among street adolescents was 23% (95% CI: 19.0, 27.4). Keeping privacy during the consultation (AOR=3.43 (95% CI: 1.66, 7.12)), and having information about sexual and reproductive health services (AOR= 6.63 (95% CI: 3.52, 12.48)) were significantly associated with the use of sexual and reproductive health service. Conclusion and Recommendation: The utilization of sexual and reproductive health services was low. Being served keeping their privacy and having information, education, and counseling were significantly associated factors with sexual and reproductive health services utilization. Therefore, there should be a concerted effort by health facilities, and healthcare providers to keep the privacy of study participants, and provision information on sexual and reproductive health services as much as possible.