Adequacy of adolescent healthcare services available for adolescent girls in a Southern Nigerian environment

Abstract

Background:Health-seeking behaviour of a population depends to a great extent on the availability, accessibility and affordability of services of healthcare providers/facilities in nearby localities. Adolescents are usually uncomfortable discussing private health issues such as sexuality and contraceptives. This study was aimed at assessing the adequacy of service provision among adolescents in southern Nigerian environment.
Methods: This was a comparative study among adolescent secondary school girls in rural and urban areas. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study sample and was administered with questionnaire. Adolescent health services delivery centre serving the respective population was surveyed, using checklists and mystery client approach to determine the adequacy of provision of adolescent services.
Results: Among the rural respondents, 12.5% have had an unpleasant experience at a health centre while 13.3% of urban respondents have had a similar experience, the reasons being: improper attention, lack of privacy and being yelled at. Observed difference was not statistically significant (X²=0.000, p= 0.987).
Conclusion:There was no statistically significant observed rural-urban difference in terms of unpleasant experiences at a health centre; implying a similar experience albeit among a few respondents. The main problems here were the issues of confidentiality and office atmosphere.

Keywords: adequacy, adolescent services, provision, health seeking behaviour