The Impact of Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Adolescent Girls toward Reproductive Health

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a pivotal age for girls around the world. What emerges during a girl’s teenage years shapes the direction of her life and that of her family. For many girls in developing countries, the mere onset of puberty that occurs during adolescence marks a time of heightened vulnerability to leaving school, child marriage, early pregnancy, HIV, sexual exploitation, coercion and violence. Reproductive health of adolescent females is an important health concern. The study aims: To determine the impact of health teaching on the knowledge, attitude and practice of adolescent girls toward reproductive health. Methods: A survey based cross-sectional study conducted in KSA. Results: A total of 1250 participants were included with a mean age of 17.3 ± 1.4 years, and >80% of the participants have completed high school. A total of 1191 girls had the onset of menarche at approximately 13.2 years old, and 85.7% reported menstrual disorder. Conclusion: There is poor knowledge and practice of reproductive health among participating adolescents. High BMI, bad family relationships and lack of gynecological visits were found to negatively affect reproductive health. Improving adolescent girl’s knowledge toward reproductive health can help them make better and informed reproductive health choices.