AWARENESS ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is the stage of life when individuals reach sexual maturity, in addition to physical changes. Pakistani adolescents have to face many problems related to reproductive health. This traditional society discourages open discussion on reproductive health issues.The objective of this study was to determine the level of awareness about reproductive health among adolescent girls aged 15-20 years. 
METHODS:This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on 300 female students selected randomly from two women colleges in Faisalabad, from 01.06.11 to 30.06.11 . A self administered questionnaire was developed. Data was cleaned and entered using Epi Data version 3 and was analyzed by using Epi Info version 3.5.1. 
RESULTS: The age of the study subjects ranged from 15 and 20 years. The overall knowledge about pubertal changes was found to be 68%. All participants had attained menarche by the time the survey was conducted. The mean age at menarche was 13.63 years. The leading source of menarcheal information to the adolescents were mothers in 47% of cases. There were some cultural and indigenous practices followed by the participant regarding menstrual hygiene and dietary habits during menstruation. The overall knowledge about reproductive health, family planning, emergency contraception was very low. 
CONCLUSION: The study showed tremendous lacunae in awareness of all reproductive health related matters. Further studies, both at state and regional levels, are warranted to identify geographic and demographic gaps in reproductive health knowledge in both adolescent girls and boys. 
KEY WORDS: Adolescent girls, Reproductive health, Menarche, Puberty.