Youth-friendly services in two rural districts of West Bengal and Jharkhand, India

Definite Progress, a Long Way to Go

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3972633
AutoresMartine Collumbien (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Manasee Mishra (0000-0002-9923-3976, Child In Need Institute), Charlotte Blackmore (0000-0001-5065-625X, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)
Año2011
Volumen19
Número37
Páginas174-183
Fecha de publicación2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReproductive Health Matters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0968-8080 • E-ISSN: 1460-9576
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/s0968-8080(11)37557-x
PMID21555098
OpenAlexW2082455985
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas11

It is a continuing challenge to reach rural youth in India with sexual and reproductive health services. Drawing on a large survey among 6,572 young people aged 15-24 and 264 rural health providers accessed by them in rural West Bengal and Jharkhand, we witnessed a long-awaited response to national efforts to promote birth spacing. That 31% of young, married women without children were using contraception to delay a first birth was evidence of cracks in the persistent tradition of demonstrating fertility soon after marriage. The coverage of public sector services for reproductive and sexual health is highly variable and the scope largely restricted to married women, with unmarried young women and men relying mainly on the informal private sector, and seriously underserved. Strong social norms proscribing pre-marital sexual relationships perpetuate barriers in meeting their needs. Access to contraception is affected by negative provider attitudes and reluctance to report having sex underestimates the real scale of unmet need. Yet, 30% of providers reported unmarried young women seeking abortion services. To address the needs of all rural youth, the public sector needs to expand its remit or engage with informal providers, train them to deliver youth-friendly services and give them a recognised role in abortion referral

Abortion · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Family planning · Marital status · Political science · Population · Pregnancy · Public sector · Referral · Reproductive health · Rural area · Service provider · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine