A Study of Awareness of Reproductive Health and Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Adolescent Girls of Rural Areas and Urban Slums in Bellary Taluk.

Background: In India, adolescent girls (10-19 years) account for a little more than one fifth of the population (21.4%). Due of various social taboos, ignorance and misconceptions about sex and sexuality, conception and contraception; adolescents form a special vulnerable group which needs nutritional, social, psychological and emotional support. Objectives: To assess the awareness levels of adolescent girls regarding reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases and to compare the awareness levels between rural and urban slum adolescent girls. Methodology: A descriptive community based cross sectional study was conducted in a setting of urban slums of Bellary city and rural areas of four primary health centres attached to our medical college, Karnataka state, India, during the period of July 2010 to February 2011. A total of four urban slums were included in the study. Within each selected urban slum 100 adolescent girls were studied. In rural area, four PHCs attached to our college were selected. Within each PHC, four subcentres were selected randomly and in each selected subcentre 25 adolescent girls were selected using systemic random sampling. Altogether in each PHC 100 adolescent girls were studied. Information was collected using face to face interviews based on a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Results: The overall awareness with respect to menstruation, pregnancy and contraception and symptoms of STDs like white discharge and its causes was low where in more than half of both urban and rural students were not aware about the reproductive health issues. There was a statistically significant difference in the awareness levels between urban and rural adolescent girls with respect to knowledge about menstruation before attaining it, knowledge about legal age of marriage for females and contraception, knowledge about white discharge and its causes.