Do European Union countries adequately address the healthcare needs of adolescents in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights?
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are of particular relevance given their potential short-term or long-term health consequences. This study evaluates recommendations and policies regarding access to care in this area in 31 European countries (European Union (EU) plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). METHODS: As part of the EU funded Models of Child Health Appraised project, data were gathered using a 43-item questionnaire sent to experts responsible for collecting information in each country. RESULTS: Ten countries have not developed any formal policy or recommendation that guarantee the respect of confidentiality and the possibility of consulting a physician without parents knowing. Nearly half of the countries do not have centres specialised in adolescent healthcare, tackling comprehensive health issues or focusing specifically on SRH. Access to emergency contraception and information regarding pregnancy, including testing, is easy in most countries. However, oral contraception is delivered free of charge in only 10 countries. Twenty-three countries do not meet current standards in terms of providing policy-based pregnancy care, and only 13 have set up special programmes for pregnant adolescents. In only seven countries can adolescents definitely have their pregnancy terminated without their parents knowing (and in another seven countries in selected situations). CONCLUSION: The provision and availability of adolescent-friendly SRHR care are far from optimal in around half of the surveyed countries. These results call for the review and implementation of policies, specialised healthcare centres and training initiatives for primary care providers.
Date Issued
2019-12-16
Date Acceptance
2019-06-18
Citation
Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2019, 105 (1), pp.40-46
ISSN
0003-9888
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Start Page
40
End Page
46
Journal / Book Title
Archives of Disease in Childhood
Volume
105
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Sponsor
European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31270093
PII: archdischild-2019-317073
Grant Number
634201
Subjects
adolescent
health care
policy
rights
sexual and reproductive health
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2019-07-03