| dc.description.abstract | Globally, young people are one quarter of the world’s population with an estimate
of 1.8 million and 86 percent are living in less developed countries. This has a huge implication
on the existing health systems which are already constrained with limited finances, health workers,
equipment, and commodities to guarantee utilization of quality SRHR services for young people.
This study was done to investigate the individual, social cultural and health system factors
influencing utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among young people (10-24) in
Iganga Municipality.
A cross sectional research study with a sample size of 387 young people (10-24)
was conducted in Iganga Municipality, Iganga District. Iganga Municipality had two divisions with
a total of twenty wards. The wards were grouped into four clusters with each representing five
wards. Then, simple random sampling was used to select the cluster from which the study
population was identified. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select households
followed by purposive sampling techniques to select the eligible respondents. The researcher used
research administered and self-administered questionnaires to collect both qualitative and
quantitative data about utilization for sexual and reproductive health services in Iganga
Municipality. SPSS version 16 was used for analysis using the prevalence ratio to test for the
significance of the association between the independent and dependent variable.
Results: The results revealed that the biggest percentage of young people (90.7%) acknowledged
to have sought for sexual and reproductive health services and only (9.3%) acknowledged to
having never sought for any SRH service, the last time they needed it. There was also an
association between age, religion, marital status, being in a relationship, being in a sexual
relationship, negotiating with a partner, community taboos in relation to SRH needs, discussion
with a partner about use of SRH service and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services
among young people in Iganga Municipality.
The study concludes that individual and social cultural factors play a vital role in
influencing utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among young people in Iganga
Municipality. There is a need to develop and expand access to gender responsive, inclusive and
integrated youth friendly reproductive health services within the existing private and public health
facilities. Continuous capacity building and engagement of all community gatekeepers such as
religious leaders, local leaders, aunties/uncles, parents, guardians, VHTs, Peer educators among
others to be in a better position to provide age appropriate SRH information and refer those that
need a given service. | en_US |
