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Background: Homelessness has become a major global and public health challenge, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This phenomenon predisposes young adults to severe psychosocial and health challenges. Aim: To explore the sexual and reproductive health needs and behaviours of homeless young adults and challenges in accessing these services. Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Data were collected between 01 June and 31 July 2020 from 30 participants using in-depth interviews, two focus group discussions involving 12 participants, and one key informant interview. Thematic analysis was used to analyse transcripts from the interviews. Results: The findings show that certain behavioural patterns associated with homelessness impact the lives of homeless young adults in their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) choices, beliefs, and perspectives. This group faces several challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS) such as modern contraceptives and abortion care. The high cost, and undesirable and unfriendly attitude of service providers in health facilities pose as barriers to accessing SRHS by homeless young adults. Conclusion: Sustainable and proactive measures must be put in place to address the identified barriers. Timely delivery of accurate information and educative materials, ensuring affordability, and setting up of accessible and friendly facilities could improve SRHS for this group. Social and Public Policy Implications: This study may inform and support policy guideline development to address homelessness and SRH needs of young adults in urban Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: persons with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs as the abled people but they often face barriers to SRH information and services which are necessary for healthy and safe relationships, protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study sought to access the SRH services among adolescents with disabilities in four Special Needs Schools in Ghana. Methods: the study adopted a cross-sectional study design with a quantitative approach to data collection between the months of January to March, 2018. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from adolescents with disabilities from selected schools in Ghana. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. Results: majority of participants had hearing disability (52.1%). The average age at menarche among females was 13 years whiles the age at which puberty was attained among boys was 14 years. School teachers were the major source of information on SRH for the respondents (63.7%) followed by parents (12.2%). A majority (67.1%) of respondents had good knowledge of SRH. Factors which were significantly associated with knowledge level were age (p=0.026), religion (p=0.034), sources of information (p<0.001), guardians (p=0.049). Conclusion: the majority of participants had good knowledge of SRH, although their knowledge of contraceptive and access were poor. Only condoms were mostly known. There is the need for increased awareness on the availability of other contraceptives methods and the removal of barriers to contraceptive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this study aimed to explore key informants' views about child abuse. Using a qualitative research design, thirty key informants participated in the study. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-depth Interviews (IDIs) were conducted to gather data, which were analyzed thematically. The findings of the study indicated that children were discouraged from being assertive. Also, it was found that key informants had knowledge of child abuse, the variant types, as well as perpetrators and victims of child abuse. Furthermore, different factors (poverty, cultural and religious beliefs, ignorance of child protection laws, among others) were described by key informants as underpinning the occurrence of child abuse. Moreover, evidence showed that generally, child abuse cases were not reported due to barriers, such as concerns about consequences of reporting, poverty, family ties, stigmatization and unavailability or lack of support systems. Based on the findings of the study, conclusions were drawn and implications discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to address school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) globally are hampered by conceptual and methodological difficulties in capturing meaningful data needed to inform policy and practice. Whilst the emphases of influential studies tend to be on measuring practice of violence, the authors investigate whether they can develop a more meaningful analysis that incorporates attention to both discourse and practice. They do this by examining data collected through a five-year mixed-methods study assessing change in SRGBV in Ghana and Mozambique. The analysis reveals how in the two quite different contexts there were different discursive emphases and in turn practices which were invisible in the SRGBV disclosure data. They identify how both quantitative and qualitative data contribute to understanding changing gender violence in ways that can be illuminating. It is by understanding the interplay between discourse and practice that can really help us understand 'what works' to address SRGBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: By exploring the level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and attitudes towards persons with HIV/AIDS among deaf people in Ghana, this article aims to identify and correct possible gaps in awareness. Method: A participatory sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs assessment was conducted, targetting deaf people who were fluent in the Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL). The study design was a two-phase, sequential, mixed methods approach. Three focus groups assisted in the development of a survey, which was then implemented for needs assessment data collection. The 179 study participants consisted of 26 focus group participants, 152 survey respondents and 1 key informant. Of the focus group participants, 7 were executives of Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD), 10 were adult males, and nine were adult females. Apart from the key informant, all the participants were deaf persons. Results: The study indicated that many respondents still had misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and had difficulty identifying preventive methods, but their attitudes towards persons with HIV/AIDS was generally positive. Conclusion: More attention needs to be paid to the requirements of the deaf community and to designing HIV/AIDS programmes and services that are deaf-friendly and accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent sexuality has become a global public health concern. Thus, in order to respond to the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of adolescents in Ghana, the government has developed various policy initiatives. This qualitative study explored the influence of adolescent-friendly health services on the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in the Tamale metropolis of Northern Ghana. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit 19 participants and in-depth interviews were conducted to gather data for the study. The findings indicated that adolescents utilized the promotive, preventive and curative services provided by the adolescent health corner and found the services useful for their SRH. Additionally, it was found that although some of the adolescents utilized the services of the adolescent health corners, they engaged in risky sexual behaviors due to poverty. Furthermore, the study revealed that the adolescent health corner in the study was unable to provide rehabilitative services due to the unavailability of professionals. Based on the findings, we conclude that adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs will have the intended impact on beneficiaries if the various medical and social welfare professionals and organizations collaborate in their efforts to enhance the development and well-being of adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]