Déterminants de la fréquentation des services de santé sexuelle et reproductive par les adolescent-e-s et jeunes dans la ville de Yaoundé.

Abstract

The theme of this study is the use of sexual and reproductive health services by adolescents and young people in the city of Yaoundé. The choice of this theme is the result of an observation. Over the last few years, risky behaviour among young people has become increasingly widespread in Cameroonian society. Generally speaking, the media and social networks inform us daily about these various risky behaviours, even though these values are commonplace. Nonetheless, they account for the explosion in teenage pregnancies, diseases and sexually transmitted infections in the city of Yaoundé. As part of this study, to decipher the reasons behind the low use of sexual and reproductive health services by young people and adolescents in the city of Yaoundé and to analyse the recognition of these social practices in an urban environment, we used several data collection tools. These included semi-structured interviews with institutional and community players, direct observation during our many field visits and group discussions with adolescents and young people. In addition, we drew on three theoretical frameworks, namely Moscovici's theory of social representations and adolescents' perceptions of sexual and reproductive health services. Bertalanffy's systemic analysis enabled us to understand the health policies implemented for the sexual and reproductive health of young people and adolescents in the city of Yaoundé, and Garfinker's ethnomethodology enabled us to relate the findings. In fine, the results of this study reveal several key barriers such as the deficit in sexual information and education, the lack of access to the necessary resources, as well as the prevalence of strict gender norms and significant difficulties linked to social stigmatization. What's more, this work sheds a tiny amount of light on the various factors hindering the positive reception of sexual health services among adolescents. However, given this situation, it is crucial to integrate all these dimensions to create more effective targeted initiatives within the specific context of Yaoundé in order to significantly improve adolescent well-being.