Zaria Geographer Vol. 29, No. 1, 2022 ISSN: 0795-7599     Online ISSN: 2782-7739     Page: 87 - 101
Analysis of Adolescents’ Reproductive Health Problems in Osun State, Nigeria
Obidiya, M.O.* and Oyeleye, O.I.

Abstract: This research analyzed the types of adolescents’ reproductive health problems, the prevalent rates in the population as well as inter and intra-urban variations. The types of reproductive health problems discussed here are essentially Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). The research made use of secondary data sourced from the hospital records of relevant cases which were collected from the STIs clinic of the two teaching Hospitals in Osun State (Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Osogbo and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife. The data were processed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences 20.0 (SPSS). The result shows that gonorrhea (27%), syphilis (21%) and candidiasis of the genitals (17%), top the list of STIs among adolescents in the State. The highest proportion of STIs was found in the major cities of Osogbo and Ile-Ife, while the high and medium residential densities host the larger percentage of reproductive health problems. The Spearman’s rank correlation between the number of cases and years is 0.30 and it is not significant. This could be a signal that the variation in the trend is not dependent on years but on some other factors such as poor record-keeping attitudes and societal disapproval of contraceptive use among adolescents among others. This implies that the high density areas, particularly the core areas of our urban centres need greater attention with respect to awareness campaigns and promotion of safe sex practices as well as education on reproductive health.

Key words: Adolescent, Reproductive health, Residential density, Sexually transmitted infections