Abstrait

Determinants of Effective Parent-Adolescent Communication Methods in a Rural Agrarian Community in Western Kenya

Charles Ouma Wafula, Faith Chesire, Johnstone Kuya and Nelly Chelagat

In an effort to address a major health systems concern, many interventions have been developed that recognize parents as key players towards influencing adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes and behavior. This study explores interactional interfaces between various elements within the process of parentadolescent sexual and reproductive health communication. This was an analytic cross sectional study utilizing mixed methods study design to collect data in 385 households in 40 villages with adolescents aged between 10-19 years. Household head gender, age, housing type, religion, group belonging, occupation, main source of income, local dairy animal, acreage of land available for cultivation and presence of a cash crop were important characteristics. Intra and inter method interactions included frequency of communication, information comprehensiveness, engagement frequency and monitoring frequency and intensity. Frequency of communication, monitoring and comprehensiveness of information were important elements for positive perception on effect and higher perception effect is related with higher likelihood of adolescents not having ever had sex and using protection during sex. Results show effectiveness of parent-adolescent sexual behaviour change communication process as being the result of four critical interactional interface points: household characteristics and communication methods; intra and inter methods; methods and perception effect; and perception and sexual behavior practice.