Research Article
Adolescents’ Communication on Sexual and Reproductive Health
Matters with Their Parents and Associated Factors among
Secondary and Preparatory School Students in Ambo Town,
Oromia, Ethiopia
Tesfaye Shibiru Bikila,
1
Nagasa Dida,
2
Gizachew Abdissa Bulto ,
3
Bikila Tefera Debelo ,
3
and Kababa Temesgen
3
1
West Shewa Zonal Health Office, Ambo, Ethiopia
2
Health Education and Promotion Unit, Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ambo University,
Ambo, Ethiopia
3
Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ambo University, Ambo, Ethiopia
Correspondence should be addressed to Gizachew Abdissa Bulto; gizachab@yahoo.com
Received 28 December 2020; Revised 3 March 2021; Accepted 9 March 2021; Published 18 March 2021
Academic Editor: Vikas Roy
Copyright © 2021 Tesfaye Shibiru Bikila et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Background. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) communication is most likely to promote healthy sexual practices and to reduce
risky sexual behavior among adolescents. Communication is the principal means for parents to transmit sexual values and
knowledge to their children. Although there are few studies conducted on parent-adolescent communication, there is no study
conducted in the town of Ambo. This study was aimed at assessing the level of parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues
and its associated factors among school students in Ambo town, Oromia, Ethiopia. Method. An institution-based concurrent
mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted among 591 secondary and preparatory school students in Ambo town from
February 24
th
to March 9
th
, 2019. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the study subject. Data were collected
through self-administered questionnaires, and FGD was conducted with parents of students. Data was entered using EpiData
version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23.0 for statistical analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were
used to ascertain the association using a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value (<0.05). Results. The proportion of students
who had communication on sexual and reproductive health issues with their parents was 222 (37.6%). Being female
(AOR = 2:07, 95% CI: 1.40-3.07), private school (AOR = 2:77, 95% CI: 1.17-3.69), a father with secondary education
(AOR = 2:93, 95% CI: 1.05-8.12) and diploma and above (AOR = 3:27, 95% CI: 1.23-8.71), considering sex education necessary
(AOR = 2:83, 95% CI: 1.22-6.57), got information about SRH issues from school (AOR = 2:01, 95% CI: 1.06-2.36) and media
(AOR = 2:92, 95% CI: 1.49-3.71), and mother’s openness to communicate about SRH issues (AOR = 3:30, 95% CI: 1.31-4.05) were
found to be significantly associated with parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues. Conclusions. The study showed that
parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues is low. Being female, those from a private school, father’s education, perceived
importance of sex education, source of information about SRH issues (school and media), and mother’s openness to communicate
about SRH issues were identified to be factors associated with the communication. Therefore, the concerned body should consider
the identified factors to improve the current level of parent-adolescent communication and adolescent reproductive health.
1. Introduction
Globally, more than 1.1 million adolescents aged 10-19 years
died in 2016, over 3000 every day, mostly from preventable
or treatable causes [1]. Each year, more than 1 million teen-
agers become pregnant and 65% of the resulting babies are
born out of wedlock [2, 3]. Moreover, adolescents are more
likely to engage in a wide range of high-risk sexual behaviors
Hindawi
International Journal of Reproductive Medicine
Volume 2021, Article ID 6697837, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6697837