How do South African policies address provision of contraception among adolescents?

Abstract

Background: The South African government has pioneered several policy documents that emphasise the importance of sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

Aim: We examined how national policies address access and provision of contraception to adolescents in South Africa.

Setting: South African national policies.

Methods: We systematically searched various academic databases such as EbscoHost, Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus, and other relevant sources to obtain 854 policy documents. Using a set of explicit inclusion criteria, we screened and selected 11 South African policies for analysis. Next, we analysed three international policies and frameworks to extract the key elements from them. Thereafter, we used these key elements to develop an analytical framework for conducting the analysis of the South African national policies.

Results: We found that South Africa’s SRH policies largely address the provision of contraception by following international guidelines. These policies recognise the value of providing contraception to adolescent girls. However, we also found gaps in some policies, which could impede how they are translated into practice. These include recognising that adolescent boys can play a role in contraception; adolescents have varying SRH needs and are a key stakeholder not only for policy development but also for monitoring and accountability.

Conclusion: With a specific focus on South Africa’s contraception services in the public sector, these findings are relevant to policymakers, providers and users of contraceptives.

Contribution: This review proposes recommendations that will assist with strengthening health policy development and thus improve primary health care services related to contraception for adolescents.