Socioeconomic differences in adolescent sexual and reproductive health: Sources of family planning

Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) is one of five areas of focus of the World Bank’s Reproductive Health Action Plan 2010–2015 (RHAP), which recognizes the importance of addressing ASRH as a development issue with important implications for poverty reduction. Delaying childbearing and preventing unintended pregnancies during adolescence has been shown to improve health outcomes and increase opportunities for schooling, future employment, and earnings (Greene & Merrick, 2005). Knowledge of family planning (FP) methods and how to access them is an important precursor to use of a method and, in turn, the prevention of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during adolescence (Agha, 2002; Piotrow, Kincaid, Rimon, Rinehart, and Samson, 1997). Communication campaigns are designed to reach men and women through use of radio, television, magazines, and other media to transmit FP information, as well as information about HIV testing and treatment, among other health issues (Hutchinson and Wheeler, 2006; Van Rossem and Meekers 2007). Health workers also share family planning information in clinic settings through community health worker models (Argaw, 2007; Lehman and Sanders, 2007; Mmari and Magnani, 2003).