Ivan Lyagoba, Edrine Waibi, Joan Namatovu, Walter Atwijukire, Irene Manakhe, Rebecca Nekaka and Julius Nteziyaremye*
Introduction: Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood that involves physiological, anatomical, and psychological and biochemical changes that influence natural experimentation, abstract thought, contemplating the future, empathy, and idealism. Therefore, parental investments in adolescents may be reflected in adulthood outcomes. Uganda has poor adolescent health indices such as national teenage prevalence rate of 25% and adolescent human immune virus rates between 11-18%. These threaten the national development plan III and sustainable development goals 1,3,4,5, and 8. We therefore aimed to study the influence of parent/parent-figure teenage communication and its influence on contraceptive use in Uganda. Materials and methods: A community based cross sectional descriptive study with mixed methods was used. We used researcher administered structured questionnaires to collect quantitative data and analysed it using STARTA 4 while focus group discussions were used for qualitative data collection and analysed using NVIVO. We premised this study on theory of elaborate likelihood model and theory of planned behaviour and reinforced by constructive parental behaviour. Results: 387 adolescents were enrolled of whom 50.4% were females and 49.6% males. 85.5% were rural dwellers, 97.1% had formal education, 72.1% were single, 84.2% were Christians and 27.9% married. About 47.8% had dropped out of school and only 7% were employed. Additionally, 63.8% were from nuclear family while 5.9% were from single parent families. Significantly 66.14% had had sex in the past 1 year and 73.7% used a contraceptive. Whereas 99.2% had heard about contraceptives, only 28.1% did so from a parent/parent-figure and other source. Contraceptive use was significantly associated with parent/parent-figure-teenage communication (AOR=6.95% CI 1.3-34.5, p=0.023). Conclusions: Contraceptive use was reinforced by teenage-parent/ parent-figure communication. Parent/parent figures may be important in unlocking the misconceptions and fallacies about adolescent sexuality and ease access to adolescent sexual and reproductive health services.
