PLA Notes 37 February 2000 8 Participatory and learning action as a tool to explore adolescent sexual and reproductive health

Document begins: PLA Notes 37 February 2000 8 Participatory and learning action as a tool to explore adolescent sexual and reproductive health Mary Simasiku, Gladys Nkama and Michelle Munro Despite the fact that service providers are Introduction mandated to provide SRH information and services to young people by the Zambia Family Planning in Reproductive Health When CARE Zambia used participatory Policy, service statistics showed that few research techniques to explore issues around adolescent sexual and reproductive health adolescents sought reproductive health (SRH) (Kaul Shah, Zambezi and Simasiku information or care from clinics. CARE 1998), the findings that emerged were embarked upon a sexual and reproductive worrying. health project because of these issues. · Adolescents reported early initiation of Involving youth through participatory sexual relations. research · Despite this, their information about reproductive health was often incomplete and incorrect. · Sex among young people typically approach as it was felt this would provide involved some type of an exchange, for richer baseline information from the point of example, money, test answers or sweets. view of the young people that would then be · fed into the project design. Thus adolescents, Sources of information were frequently their communities and service providers were ...