Knowledge on Reproductive Health issues among Adolescent Girls of Burla Town, Sambalpur, Odisha

Adolescence is the period in which foundations can be laid for a long and healthy life. It is a prime time for health promotion and for establishment of healthy behaviour that will influence health in later years. This transition phase makes them vulnerable to a number of problems, for example, psychosocial problems, general and reproductive health problems, and sexuality related problems. Hence the present study was conducted to assess the knowledge of adolescent girls regarding reproductive health. The study was conducted among the + 2 students of JotiVihar Junior College and N.A.C. College, Burla of Sambalpur district Odisha. The numbers of samples were 100. Purposive sampling method was used for data collection and self-formulated questionnaire was used to collect data from adolescent students to assess their level of knowledge on reproductive health issues. It consists of questions on background information, and reproductive health issues like menstruation/ menarche/ pubertal changes, teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortion, RTIs, STDs and HIV/AIDS. It was found that the girls had just average knowledge about Reproductive Health. This is a matter of great concern. Thus Reproductive health problems should be discussed among adolescents, especially for girls through health clubs, seminars, lectures, counselling and intervention programmes at school and college level.