Text in English / Preventing teenagers’ pregnancies and improving teenagers’ reproductive health are important as pregnancies in teenagers still represent an important health challenge in Cameroon. The purpose of this dissertation of a limited scope was to describe the perception of peer educators who underwent the ‘100% young’ peer education training and the effect it had on their own sexual behaviour. A qualitative descriptive, explorative and contextual research design was conducted. Data collection was done using in-depth interviews. Fifteen peer educators were purposively selected. Two questions were asked namely; please describe how you perceived the peer education training that you underwent and, describe how this training affected your own sexual behaviour. Findings revealed that participants had a positive education experience, positive personal growth and for many, that was enough to become mentors for their peers and build awareness. Recommendations propose that interventions such as the ‘100% young’ are urgently required to prevent teenage pregnancy. / Health Studies / M.P.H.

MA (Sociology) / Department of Sociology / This study aims to investigate the socio-cultural influence towards the risky sexual behaviour of adolescents in eSikhaleni, in context of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS epidemic. The study will adapt a qualitative approach. It is an explanatory study goes beyond simple description to model empirically the phenomenon under study. The participants were drawn from two categories. The participants for the key informant interviews were selected purposively and they include community leaders, high schools principals and life orientation teachers. The adolescent’s learners were selected using a snowball sampling technique. Data was analysed thematically, matrices were created using to content thematic analysis. The responses were grouped thematically. Broad categories were then generated to differentiate and explain the thoughts expressed by the respondents. Invitations to participate on the study were sent to respondents by submitting informed consent electronically and in person. When participants completed the structured interview they were not required to reveal their personal or contact details. The findings of the study reveals that risky sexual behavior amongst adolescents learners is as a result of a number of factors which include the diminishing role of parenting, death of morality in society, poverty and deprivation just to name a few. The recommendations advanced speak to the need for government to have a multipronged strategy of resolving the problem.

MPH / Department of Public Health / The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among High Schools has reached an epidemic level, calling for public health intervention. The study purpose was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and risk behaviours related to STIs among learners at a selected high school in Collins Chabane Municipality. A quantitative-descriptive study was carried among 2018 officially registered high school learners in Malamulele. Malamulele West was conveniently selected because of the accessibility and Photani High School was selected purposefully. A simple-random sampling technique was used to select 252 respondents. Data collected with self-administered questionnaires was analysed using SPSS software version 25.0, the response rate was 100%. Chi-square test was used to determine the relationships between more categorical variables. Statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. Majority (63.1%) of the respondents never knew of STIs. Majority of respondents (31%) incorrectly identified the types and causative organisms of STIs. Poor knowledge on the modes of transmission was found amongst 73% of the population. Majority of the respondents (67%) did now know that STIs are infections. A large proportion (54%) had a positive attitude on STIs as they emphasised the importance of STI screening. Misconceptions regarding STIs is rife, 61% and 59.9% of the respondents believed preventing STIs by going to church every Sunday and sleeping with virgins respectively. 95.6%) were sexual active and 29% of the respondents had poor knowledge on risk sexual behaviours. Respondents had adequate knowledge regarding treatment as 56% of the respondents reported knowing where to seek treatment. However, 92.1% respondents reported bad treatment by nurses. Each high school should be allocated a social worker and a nurse for the coordination of awareness campaigns on STIs. Churches should offer formal programs regarding STIs to their congregants in collaboration with universities and clinics. / NRF

This quantitative descriptive cross sectional study explored factors influencing sexual risk behaviours among youths in senior secondary schools in Ethiopia. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Religious attachment, living with friends, living alone, parental control, level of parental education, peer pressure and number of friends who had experienced sex were some of the factors noted to influence youths to engage in sexual risk behaviours. The findings of this study have implications for both practice and policy development. They will enable healthcare workers to identify youths at risk of engaging in sexual risk behaviours and subsequently motivate them using health promotion strategies to engage in safe sexual practices. Adopting such an approach will prevent or at least minimise risk of youths being infected with sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Contraceptives are available free of charge throughout South Africa. Nevertheless the number of requests for termination of pregnancy (TOP) services continues to increase. This research investigated challenges preventing women from using contraceptives effectively. Structured interviews were conducted with 47 women who requested TOP services. Gender and financial issues posed challenges for some women to access contraceptives as well as their reported inability to access contraceptives. Most (85,5%) of the respondents used contraceptives. They discontinued using contraceptives because they experienced side-effects, necessitating them to request TOPs. Knowledge about, access to, nor the actual use of contraceptive enabled these women to prevent unwanted pregnancies. More effective counselling about the side-effects of contraceptives and enhanced accessibility of contraceptives during weekends and lunch breaks could enable more women to prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce the number of requests for TOPs in the Gert Sibande District (Mpumalanga). / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Text in Afrikaans / The researchers' own interaction with the community caused her to recognize that the safety of pre-schoolers and toddlers in high risk areas are being jeopardised because sexual education is not applied soon enough. The aim of this research study was to determine the needs of role-players in the high risk area in terms of community education regarding the safety of pre-schoolers. A quantitative approach was followed, which focussed on applied research and the exploratory and descriptive objectives of the research in order to facilitate a better understanding of the research phenomenon and to understand the specifics of the situation. The Randomised Cross-sectional Survey design was implemented. The analysed findings were presented graphically and interpreted in order to reach conclusions and present the recommendations of the study. The general conclusion based upon the empirical findings of the study is that there is a great need for community education regarding the safety of pre-schoolers in the high-risk area, Danville. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Grandparents fail to communicate sexual matters to the youth. It is their duty to initiate this communication. The escalating numbers of sexually transmitted infections among the youth require grandparents as carers to talk openly. The main purpose of the study was to support grandparents in their communication about sexual matters to the youth. In-depth phenomenological focus group interviews were conducted. Data analysis revealed three themes: grandparents' experience of communication, emotional experience, and the experience of political and social influence. The study developed guidelines for grandparents. The limitations of the study involve the research sample, which was not truly representative of the whole population of East London. The study recommends that all stakeholders be involved in supporting grandparents in their communicating sexual matters to the youth. The researcher recommends further research to describe youth perceptions of communicating sexual matters to grandparents / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The study sought to explore and describe the risk behaviour regarding HIV transmission among youth in Bulawayo, their knowledge of HIV transmission and the sources of information on HIV transmission accessible to them. A quantitative, descriptive exploratory design was used and 238 youth from three secondary schools in Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe were the respondents. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used to facilitate and acquire insight into the risk behaviour among the youth. The inferences drawn from the study were that youth have inadequate knowledge about HIV transmission and therefore do not fully understand their risk of infection. Youth also find shyness and fear of rejection serious barriers to communicating openly about sexuality, sexual and HIV/AIDS issues. The findings of the study have implications for programmes to limit HIV transmission among youth and should assist policymakers and educators in developing and implementing such programmes in order to improve the health of youth in Zimbabwe. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of adolescents about sexuality and sexually transmitted infections, which probably contribute towards the high incidence of sexually transmitted infections amongst this group.The study was designed as a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research. A focus group interview and unstructured observation were used to collect data, using a nonprobability snowball sample. The group consisted of 12 male and female adolescents residing in a specific geographical area in Pretoria and attending different high schools. Recommendations made focus on: the approach to sex education programmes factors that need to be addressed in order to improve adolescent sexual health empowerment strategies of teachers, parents and community leaders on adolescent sexuality and sexually transmitted infections so that in turn, they should be able to empower adolescents on their sexual roles and thus make informed choices The impact of implementing the recommendations will benefit individuals, families and communities. / Health Studies / M.A.(Health Studies)

This research set out to investigate factors that lead to seemingly prevalent pre-marital sex by Botswana Seventhday Adventist youth aging between 12 and 30 years. A 31- item questionnaire, divided into four sections, was used on a group of 45 youths. It was discovered that 78% of the youths studied had been involved in pre-marital sex at some point in their lives. Thirty-seven percent were still practicing it. The most vulnerable age range was 14 to 18 years, but some had started experimenting with sex as early as six years. Some of the contributing factors to the youth's involvement in sex included media, friends and lack of knowledge due to parents not giving them guidance.Prevention of pre-marital sex can be made possible by the cooperation of entities like the family, the church, the school and the individual. Hence, the suggested model called the Integrated Sexuality Education. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)