Knowledge About Reproductive Health Matters Among Youth in India: Situation and Determinants

Nidhi Gupta , Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

Nearly one-third of India’s population is aged 10–24years. A significant proportion of youth experience risky or unwanted sexual activity, do not receive prompt or appropriate care, and experience adverse reproductive health outcomes. The extent to which this cohort engages in risky or safe behavior determines the trajectory of the epidemic in the coming decades. It has been established that information, skills, safe supportive environment and health counseling services can play an important role in improving adolescent health and check risky behaviors. The objective of this study was to examine the level of Sexual and Reproductive health (SRH) awareness and factors affecting this knowledge, among youth. The paper is based on bi-variate and multivariate analysis of secondary data from “Youth in India: Situations and Needs Study” conducted in six states of India. Levels of SRH awareness increased consistently with education among young men, irrespective of marital status and rural-urban residence, differences were negligible among young women in general.

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 Presented in Session 2. Children & Youth