Knowledge of reproductive health issues among secondary school adolescents in Calabar, Nigeria

The knowledge of reproductive health issues amongst secondary school adolescents in Calabar was studied. The aim was to assess and improve the knowledge content of these adolescents about reproductive health issues. Ten secondary schools in Calabar were selected by simple random sampling. One hundred and eight students from the selected schools had a two-day workshop on reproductive health matters. Before the training more than 90% of the 108 participants were knowledgeable about when boys and girls reach puberty. Similarly 99 (91.7%) knew that a girl could become pregnant once she starts menstruating. However, knowledge on contraceptive methods was low (41.7%). There were also misconceptions on the frequency of coitus that could result in pregnancy and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Following the two-day workshop, the number of participants knowledgeable about contraceptive methods increased to 100 (92.6%), and those who knew that one coital exposure could result in pregnancy increased from 34(32.4%) to 56 (51.9%). Overall mean knowledge score also increased from 54.4% to 74.0% and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Continuous health education is indispensable if the knowledge of adolescents on reproductive health matters is to improve. (Global Journal of Medical Science, 2004, 3 (1&2): 5-8