Sexual and reproductive health as a research topic, which acceptability among Moroccan youth?

¹ Higher Institute of the Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, Tetouan, Morocco
² Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco

^* Corresponding author: j.elhassouni@gmail.com

Abstract

As a previous step of a quantitative study about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among young Moroccan adults, and because of the sensitivity of this field, we aimed to examine its feasibility and acceptability through a qualitative approach. We conducted four focus groups composed of 26 participants from both sexes and aged from 18 to 23 years old, studying at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques of Tetouan. We carried out the coding and categorizing the verbatim transcripts using the QRS Nvivo v.10.0. The results show that the majority of participants do not know the concept of SRH except for some components such as HIV/AIDS and family planning and that the Internet is their leading source of information. They also show the influence of social norms and religion on sexual practices among female participants, whereas sexuality was the main concern of male participants. Therefore, sex and education seem to be the best way to solve SRH related problems. In fact, participants insisted on its integration into the basic school curriculum. They also expressed their need for an official website about SRH managed by experts as well as a health service specialized in SRH, both specific to adolescents and youth. We conclude that a quantitative study on this topic is feasible and acceptable in our context.