Youth-friendly health service in Ethiopia: Assessment of care friendliness and user’s satisfaction

by Andamlak Gizaw Alamdo, Fanna Adugna Debelle, Peter Muriuki Gatheru, Adom Manu, Juliana Yartey Enos, Tewodros Getinet Yirtaw

Background

Health facilities’ level of readiness to provide adolescent and youth-friendly health services (AYFHS) is crucial for preventing and reducing teenage pregnancies and maternal mortality. This study examined friendliness and satisfaction with AYFHS among users.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 419 adolescents and youths recruited from six health institutions in the East Shewa Zone, Oromia region, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from August 1 to October 28, 2022. Based on the WHO Quality Assessment Guidebook, the friendliness of AYFHS was evaluated as a proxy for the quality of care. Descriptive measures were computed to summarize the participants’ socio-demographic characteristics. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the potential association between each independent variable and client satisfaction. The type, magnitude, and precision of association were presented using an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) and a p-value of < 0.05 ascertained statistical significance.

Results

The overall friendliness was 69%: Specifically, 82% of the participants stated the service was accessible, 72% said it was acceptable, and 90% thought it was effective. However, only 33% and 34% of respondents reported the services were equitable and appropriate respectively. The overall satisfaction with AYFHS was 25.3%. Increased age (AOR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.57–0.86), being female (AOR = 0.11, 95%CI: 0.04–0.33), no prior information about AYFHS (AOR = 0.20, 95%CI: 0.10–0.44), and higher number of sexual partners (AOR = 0.3, 95%CI: 0.21–0.65) were factors statistically associated with client satisfaction with AYFHS.

Conclusions

The overall quality of AYFHS was sub-optimal and did not meet the four components of WHO’s good quality standards; equity, appropriateness, acceptability, and accessibility must be improved. Female and older adolescents and youths and those with a higher number of sexual partners should be targeted for intervention.