SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICE UTILIZATION AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG INTERNALLY DISPLACED ADOLESCENTS AND YOUTHS IN DEBRE BERHAN CAMP, NORTH SHEWA, ETHIOPIA, 2024

Abstract

Abstract Sexual and reproductive health is a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to all aspects of sexuality and reproduction. There is a lack of evidence on the sexual and reproductive health services utilization and associated factors among adolescent and young internally displaced people in Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the prevalence of sexual and reproductive health service utilization and associated factors among internally displaced adolescents and youths at Debre Berhan internally displaced people camp in North Shewa, Ethiopia. Method: Community based cross-sectional study was conducted in the month of February, 2024. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 422 participants. Ethical clearance was obtained from the IRB of Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College. The data was collected by using interviewer-administered questionnaire, entered to Epi info version 7.2.5, and analyzed by SPSS version 25. Bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with sexual and reproductive health service utilization. Result: Out of the 422 participants sampled, 412 responded to the interview making the response rate 97.6%. Over half of the study participants, 230 (55.8%) utilized at least one sexual and reproductive health service since residing in the camp; 40.9% among males and 65.7% among females. The most frequently utilized services in females were family planning (37.1%) followed by HIV/AIDS counseling (28.6%). Female gender (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.01, 4.84), living with partner/husband (AOR = 3.73, 95% CI: 1.11, 12.55), peer support (AOR = 3.71, 95% CI: 1.43, 9.62), exposure to mass media on sexual and reproductive health issues (AOR = 7.72, 95% CI: 2.79, 21.36), and ever experienced sexual and reproductive health problems (AOR = 8.06, 95% CI: 3.07, 21.17) showed statistically significant association with utilization of the service. Conclusion: The study found that a significant proportion of internally displaced adolescents and youths in Debre Berhan camp were not utilizing available sexual and reproductive health services. Several factors were independently associated with increased sexual and reproductive health service utilization among internally displaced adolescents and youths, including gender, living arrangement, peer support, exposure to mass media, and having experienced sexual and reproductive health problems.