Page 31 - IJPS-10-1

International Journal of
Population Studies SRH services among young people during COVID-19

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram for the present scoping review

including negative attitudes of health workers, distance to
health facilities, and unaffordable costs of services, among
others, contributing to inequitable access by AYA (Mutea
et al., 2020). The constrained access to contraceptives,
especially among users who rely on both government and
private health facilities, remains a concern during any
health emergency. This constraint was documented in a
study in South Africa, where a significant number of people
solely relied on government facilities for contraceptive
commodities, and the impact during lockdown was
enormous (Bolarinwa, 2020). Neglecting SRH services and
a lack of strategies to address health emergencies could lead
Figure 2. Different areas addressed by the included studies
Abbreviations: AYA: Adolescents and young adults; SRH: Sexual and to an increase in unintended pregnancies among young
reproductive health. people and potentially among older individuals, with
inevitable consequences for the economy of any country
for young people (Hailemariam et al., 2021; Tilahun et al., (Oyediran et al., 2020). This emphasizes the importance of
2021). A similar trend was observed in Nigeria, where the preserving the gains achieved in the field of SRH.
utilization of SRH services decreased during the pandemic
(Adelekan et al., 2021). The widespread stock-outs of 3.3. Strategies adopted to mitigate the effects of the
health commodities, particularly contraceptives, were a demand-and-supply gap
major challenge during the lockdown. The majority of the A study conducted in Francophone West Africa surveyed
countries in our review reported issues of limited access nine countries to assess the continuity of essential SRH
and stock-outs of contraceptives essential for the needs of services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings
AYA (Adelekan et al., 2021; Bolarinwa, 2020; Mongbo et al., revealed that health providers were aware of challenges
2021). The availability and accessibility of essential SRH affecting the demand and supply for SRH services. These
commodities during the pandemic should be prioritized challenges included limited knowledge among health
to avoid complications, as some countries experienced an workers regarding the novel coronavirus disease, anxieties
increased demand for contraception, which, if unaddressed, among both health workers and the public, shortages
may lead to a high rate of unplanned pregnancies among of health commodities, and ineffective organization of
young people (Wood et al., 2021). The lack of equitable access services. Despite these challenges, the study proposed
to SRH services among young women also contributed to various strategies, including the need for adapted guidance
the discrepancy in demand and supply. A study from Kenya and care procedures, the effective use of social media by
reported barriers to accessing SRH services specific to AYA, providers to debunk misconceptions during the pandemic,

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 25 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.366