Gumede, Ntombizonke A;
Hlongwane, Siphesihle;
Nxumalo, Vuyiswa;
Gumede, Dumile;
Shahmanesh, Maryam;
Seeley, Janet;
Harling, Guy;
(2025)
Finding knowledge: how youth identify their candidacy and sources of information regarding sexual and reproductive health in rural KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa.
BMC Public Health
, 25
, Article 1422. 10.1186/s12889-025-22595-6.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite efforts by government, non-governmental organizations, local communities and families, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) behavior and outcomes among adolescents and young adults (“youth”) remain of concern in South Africa. Improving outcomes requires better understanding of how youth navigate and engage with potential sources of SRH information, so interventions can align with the contextual landscape. METHODS: We conducted secondary analysis of qualitative data, including interviews and group discussions, from five studies conducted in uMkhanyakude district, KwaZulu-Natal. We adapted the existing Candidacy Framework from its original focus on service use to apply to communication. We re-coded the transcripts using a thematic coding framework. RESULTS: Youth identified their candidacy for SRH information when they could not understand what others were saying about sexual health, when they feared illness in themselves or significant others, and when experiencing a health issue. Participants expected different types of information from healthcare providers, family members and peers, and had a nuanced understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each source. Stigma related to youths’ SRH and their precarious socioeconomic circumstances limited channels for communication and the ability for shared interpersonal knowledge to impact health behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of candidacy for SRH information in this setting was largely ad-hoc, but once aware of need, youth were able to identify and discriminate between multiple information sources. However, this information landscape was strongly shaped by formal provider and parent views of what youth should know and do, and peer sources limited own knowledge. Future interventions could address concerns at various points on the candidacy journey.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Finding knowledge: how youth identify their candidacy and sources of information regarding sexual and reproductive health in rural KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12889-025-22595-6 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22595-6 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Health communication, Sexual and reproductive health, Candidacy framework, Youth, South Africa |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10210194 |
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