Perception of Adolescents in Orphanage Regarding Reproductive Health

Background: Reproductive health (RH) is a crucial aspect of general health; it is a reflection of health during adolescence and adulthood. Meeting the reproductive health needs of adolescents is a serious challenge that frequently becomes overwhelming, particularly for orphaned adolescents. Aim: To assess the perception of adolescents in orphanage regarding reproductive health. Design: A descriptive study design was utilized. Setting: The present study was conducted at two orphanage home at El-Fayoum city namely (Aisha Hassanein House and Social Care Association in EL-Hadqa). Sample: A convenience sample of 47 adolescent orphans (30 male and 17 female), they aged up to 21 years. Tools of data collection: The data was collected by using two tools. A structured questionnaire sheet to assess knowledge of adolescent orphans� regarding Reproductive health and attitude rating scale to assess their attitude regarding Reproductive health. Results: The study revealed that (70.2%) had poor level of knowledge and (57.4%) had negative attitude regarding Reproductive health. There was highly statistically significant relation between total knowledge regarding RH and their educational level and length of stay at the orphanage home. Conclusion: Over two-thirds of the adolescent orphans in the study lacked adequate knowledge about reproductive health issues and nearly three-fifths of them had negative attitude towards Reproductive health. Recommendation: Create programs for educating adolescents who are orphans about reproductive health in order to meet their needs and motivate them, further researches to evaluate and examine the barriers to using reproductive health services among adolescent orphans.