Knowledge of reproductive health among eighth-grade students from three selected private institutions in the Philippines

Abstract

Background: Reproductive health (RH) education in the Philippines has yet to realize the aspirations of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, based on trends reported by the National Demographics and Health Survey (2013 and 2017).

Objectives: This paper report on a subset of data collected from 2016 to 2017 for a research that aimed to describe what a set of eight grade students learned about reproductive health through their knowledge and attitudes towards family planning and related topics.

Methodology: The findings come from a subset of a 63-items survey administered online, highlighting sexual health knowledge, sexual health practices, sexual health attitudes, and quality of RH education. The study used a four-question quiz adapted from the World Health Organization questionnaire, Illustrative questionnaire for interview-surveys with young people, which eight graders are expected to know. Sexual
health practices and attitudes, and quality of reproductive health classes were adapted from the New
Brunswick Students' Ideas about Sexual Health Education instrument.

Results: The results showed that only nine percent of respondents (both male and female) answered all questions correctly in the WHO four-question quiz. There was marked difference between male and female responses in the sexual health practices and attitudes questions; most respondents who reported sexual activities also reported not using contraception (65.22% for males and 12.5% for females). Ten percent indicated never having RH education classes, with 52% only having had zero to one RH education classes.

Conclusion: Overall, findings suggest there are several variables that preclude successful RH education. Thus, other sources of education can be explored and integrated into the curriculum, such as the home, the community, media, and even peers.