Study of socio-medical aspects of reproductive health of adolescents

The WHO strategy «Health for All in the 21st Century» recommends giving priority to the medical and social needs of the younger generation with the development and implementation of comprehensive measures in terms of identifying risk factors and focusing on disease prevention.The objective: to assess the awareness of adolescent girls on a healthy lifestyle and the risks of reproductive health disorders.Materials and methods. Anonymous survey of 1569 girls aged 14–20 was carried out.Results. The low level of use of methods with proven effectiveness for preventing unwanted pregnancies indicates significant gaps in educational work with young people and, accordingly, a lack of knowledge on healthy lifestyles and family planning. Analysis of the questionnaires showed that at the age of 15–16 years 23,1% of girls used methods with proven effectiveness, with increasing age their share increased to 30,2% at 17–18 years old and up to 50,9% at 19–20 years old. The survey data obtained by us indicate that the level of awareness of adolescents and young people about modern methods of preventing pregnancy in Ukraine is unsatisfactory, this creates a risk of teenage pregnancy and negative medical and social consequences associated with it. At the same time, literature data indicate that about 72% of 15–17-year-old sexually active adolescents and 84% of 18–19-year-old adolescents living in developed countries use contraception; every year the level of its use is growing, since a significant stratum of the population of these countries considers contraception as the most important integral part of a healthy lifestyle.Conclusion. The use of an integrated approach using a questionnaire survey of adolescent girls makes it possible to identify risk factors for reproductive health disorders, to investigate the mechanisms of formation of adolescents’ knowledge on healthy lifestyles, the dangers of early sexual relations, the use of STI and pregnancy prevention tools, and contributes to the development of educational and information programs.