The Reproductive health literacy among vocational high school students: A descriptive study

Abstract

Background: Reproductive health is an essential component of individual well-being, encompassing physical, mental, and social aspects related to the reproductive system. Reproductive health literacy enables adolescents to access, understand, evaluate, and apply health information to make informed decisions and prevent reproductive health risks. However, reproductive health literacy among Indonesian adolescents remains a major concern, as evidenced by the persistence of risky sexual behaviors, low literacy levels, and the continued occurrence of early marriage. Previous studies in Manado have also indicated that students' reproductive health literacy is relatively low.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the level of reproductive health literacy among students by assessing their ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply reproductive health information from various sources in order to support informed decision-making and prevent risky reproductive health behaviors.

Method: This study employed a quantitative descriptive design involving Grade X and XI students at SMK Negeri 6 Manado. The study population consisted of 604 students, and A minimum sample size of 76 respondents was calculated using the Lemeshow formula, and participants were selected through stratified random sampling.

Results: The primary sources of reproductive health information were school teachers and the internet, whereas parents and other family members were less frequently utilized. Overall, students' reproductive health literacy ranged from sufficient to problematic. The accessing dimension was predominantly sufficient (59.2%), the understanding dimension was predominantly sufficient (47.4%), and the evaluating dimension showed equal proportions of sufficient and problematic literacy (43.4% each). The applying dimension was predominantly problematic (59.2%).

Conclusion: The study revealed that students had relatively better literacy in accessing and understanding reproductive health information, while the applying dimension was the weakest. These findings indicate the need to strengthen reproductive health education by emphasizing critical evaluation and practical application of information.