Browsing by Author "Narker, Thania"

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    Adolescent girls’ experiences of sexual and reproductive health services in public clinics in the Western Cape
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Narker, Thania; Kagee, Ashraf; Coetzee, Bronwyn Jo'Sean; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: This study explored the experiences that adolescent girls had when attending public clinics in the Western Cape for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, as well as explored the opinions and beliefs of healthcare workers (HCWs) who provided these SRH services. Participants were adolescent girls between the ages of 13-17 years, and the HCWs at the clinics who provided these adolescents with SRH services. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants (adolescents (n=11); HCWs (n=4)), and through observations of the clinic environment with the use of an observation schedule. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for reflexive thematic analysis. Findings of this study reveal that adolescent girls had positive experiences at the clinic and with HCWs, which were unlike their initial expectations. Adolescents reported being comfortable, happy, and even enjoyed being in the clinic during their SRH consultations. The HCWs created an adolescent-friendly environment that allowed adolescents to ask questions, and speak about sex and SRH openly and comfortably. Adolescents reported the main influences that encouraged them to seek SRH services were from their mothers and peers. HCWs had differing personal views as to when they believe adolescents were ready to engage in sexual activity. However, there was an overall agreement that their personal beliefs were not to affect the way they treated adolescents who approached them seeking SRH services. The HCWs reported numerous barriers that may hinder adolescents’ access to SRH services, which included: clinic operating hours that did not accommodate high school times; understaffed clinics; lack of resources; and governing body of schools who did not allow HCWs to provide SRH education and services at high schools. The findings from this study demonstrate that it is possible for adolescents to have positive experiences when seeking SRH services, even in contexts or cultures that may be more conservative. There have been numerous reports from adolescents, in various areas of rural and sub-Saharan Africa, where HCWs were reported to humiliate, scold, and even refuse to provide SRH services to adolescents who approached them for these services. As such, the clinic environment and behaviour of HCWs are two of the determining factors to whether adolescents will continue to seek SRH services and care. This study recommends targeting the needs of adolescents to make the clinic environment adolescent-friendly in order to promote adolescents’ adherence to utilising SRH services, thus promoting better long-term adolescent SRH outcomes.