Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health Behavior Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega, Kenya: The Impact of Prior Knowledge.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue I, January 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health Behavior Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega, Kenya: The Impact of Prior Knowledge.

Ooko, S¹, Okoth, A.W² ,, Kariaga, M. G ³, Namazzi, E ⁴, Barasa ⁵,.Achoka, J.S.K ⁶ Opiyo . A. ⁶, Elizabeth Omukunda⁷, Njeru, F. ⁸, Dipondo, J. ⁹ and Ursula Samoei¹⁰,
¹Principle Investigator, Senior Lecturer In Chemist at Masinde Muliro University Faculty of Pure Science Department
²Lecturer In Mathematics at Masinde Muliro University Faculty of Pure Science Department
³Senior Lecturer In-Plant diseases at Masinde Muliro University Faculty of Agriculture and veterinary science and technology department of agriculture and land use management.

ABSTRACT:

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescents as persons between the age of 10 and 19 years, a majority fitting the age-based definition of a “child” by the Convention on the Child’s Rights. Adolescents go through significant physical, physiological, and psychosocial changes from childhood to adulthood during this period. There are indications that during the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents experienced a myriad of challenges as reported by various forms of media. These challenges included teenage pregnancies/ motherhood and early marriages amongst girls, drug and substance abuse, and other social deviancies that came with devastating consequences, notably a surge in school dropout, which shuttered their dreams for a better future. During the outreach activities by the African Women in Science and Engineering (AWSE), MMUST chapter, a gap for research in the realm of Sexual and Reproductive Health of adolescents was established, necessitating this study. The objective guided the study: To establish the adolescents’ prior Knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and how this Knowledge shaped their behavior in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The study adopted a Mixed Methods Research (MMR) approach, drawing on the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative paradigms.
A total of 340 adolescents formed the study sample, and the sampling techniques employed were multi-stage, purposive, stratified, and simple random sampling. The data collection tools included questionnaires, interviews schedules, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data was collected on the ASRH knowledge base and their behavior within the period of the Covid-19 Pandemic. This was done conscious of the various demographic parameters that are likely to influence adolescents’ knowledge and behavior, such as parents’ level of education and occupation; Faith of the family, and the gender of the adolescent, among others. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS version 20. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically and used in triangulating quantitative findings. Results showed that 90% of adolescents had Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health, an indication that there was a10% knowledge gap. Significant differences were recorded across gender (Chi=4.715, p=0.030); age (Chi=8.775, p=0.012); religion (Chi=10.204, p=0.017) and education level (Chi=14.338, p=0.008), among others. Results further showed that Knowledge on ASRH had a positive impact on adolescents’ behavior as a smaller proportion (34.3%) of those with the Knowledge engaged in sexual relationships, compared to 42.9% of those without the Knowledge. Whereas they had Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health, it was evident that this did not translate to better behavior as manifested in a surge in unsafe abortions, failure to embrace contraception, and inability to seek appropriate medical care. In this vain, the study recommends empowerment of youth through developing education programs that focus on the needs of adolescent sexual reproductive health and development and implementation of appropriate regulatory frameworks and policies to mitigate the risks and challenges adolescents encounter.

Keywords: Adolescent, Sexual & Reproductive Health Knowledge, Behavior, COVID-19 Pandemic

1 INTRODUCTION

Covid-19 was referred to as “the uninvited guest that brought the world to a standstill,” A virus of the group, Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus group (SARS-2), causing Pneumonia and general fatigue and killing its culprits in less than two weeks (Coronavirus disease, 2019). The disease was first reported in Kenya on 15th March 2020. The President, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced a raft of measures to prevent the further spread of the disease. These included the closure of all learning intuitions, travel restrictions, the constitution of the work from home policy for public servants and business people, and the banning of public gatherings, among others. (Jaguga & Kwobah, 2020) . Also, face masks, hand washing, and sanitization were encouraged as often as possible. Ultimately there was a general lockdown in the country, which restricted people and social interactions. This affected individuals and families in different ways, including adolescents. According to WHO (2006), adolescents as persons between the age of 10 and 19 years; a majority fit the age-based definition of a “child” by the Convention on the Child’s Rights. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is a person under 18 years (Munro et al., 2011). Adolescents go through significant physical, physiological, and psychosocial changes during this period as they transition from childhood to adulthood. As of 2019 latest statistics from Global, Childhood Kenya had the third-highest teen pregnancy rates with 82 births per 1,000 births. According to the United Nations Population Fund Report, there was a surge in teenage pregnancies/ motherhood and early marriages amongst girls, drug and substance abuse, and other social deviancies (Bouma, 2016). This occasioned unprecedented school dropout, which shuttered dreams for a better future for hundreds of children.
During the outreach activities by the African Women in Science and Engineering (AWSE) Masinde Mauliro University chapter, a gap in research on the realm of Sexual and Reproductive Health of adolescents was established; hence the need for this study. The study aimed at establishing the adolescents’ prior Knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH); and how this Knowledge shaped their behavior in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

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