Abstract:
Most Tertiary students are sexually active and are predisposed to sexually
transmitted infections and other reproductive health issues. To help protect students from the
consequences of unsafe sex, reproductive health services are essential and to be made
accessible on campuses and other health facilities.
Objective: To determine the level of utilization of sexual and reproductive health services
among students in Ghana and any perceived barriers that militated against students’ utilization
of these services.
Study Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that recruited students from the
Presbyterian University College Ghana. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21 was
used to analyse responses of participants.
Results: The study revealed that majority of the respondents have heard about sexual and
reproductive health services and knew where they could access these services. However, less
than half (29.7%) of the respondents have ever utilized reproductive health services such as
family planning services, voluntary counselling for Human Immune Virus and reproductive
health counselling. Unfriendly attitude of staff, high cost of services, lack of privacy and
confidentiality were identified as major barriers to the uptake of reproductive health services.
Conclusion: The uptake of sexual and reproductive health services among students is low due
to challenges that related to service providers, community and the healthcare delivery system.
It is important that further studies investigating the expectations of students is done in order to
introduce student friendly services that will enhance utilization.
