Sexual and reproductive health service needs among youths attending preparatory school in Debre Tabor Town, Northwest Ethiopia.

Objective: Despite the reproductive health needs of youth having been supported by different organizations, youths continue to fall victim to sexual and reproductive health problems, and utilization of those services remains low. All efforts have not been felt across the Ethiopian learning institutions as is evidenced by persistent reproductive health problems. This study was aimed to determine sexual and reproductive health service needs among preparatory school youths of Debre Tabor town, Ethiopia.

Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted in Debre Tabor town from 15 to 30 February 2020. A simple random sampling technique was used to access a total of 850 preparatory school students. The data were collected using pre-tested, structured, and self-administered questionnaires. Data were entered into EpiData v. 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Binary logistics regression was used for analysis. Adjusted odds ratio along with 95% confidence interval was estimated to measure the strength of the association. The level of statistical significance was declared at a p value of 0.05.

Results: The overall magnitude of sexual and reproductive health service needs was found 61.5% at 95% confidence interval (58.2%, 64.8 %). Being married (adjusted odds ratio = 2.24; 95% confidence interval: 1.10, 4.55), having information about sexual and reproductive health (adjusted odds ratio = 2.56; 95% confidence interval: 1.85, 3.55), youth discussion with families on sexual and reproductive health (adjusted odds ratio = 1.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.11, 2.10), and having a history of sexual intercourse (adjusted odds ratio = 2.19; 95% confidence interval: 1.53, 3.13) were found significantly associated with sexual and reproductive health service needs of youths.

Conclusion: the overall need for sexual and reproductive health services among youths was found high. Therefore, managers and health workers need to prioritize an intervention that can improve youth-friendly service, information dissemination, and counseling, promoting discussion among family members on the sexual and reproductive health needs of the youths.