African youth and family planning knowledge, attitudes and practices

In this paper data are presented from a survey of 1,361 young people in eight Kenyan schools and colleges who were asked about their family planning knowledge, attitudes and practises. Although present family planning services in Kenya are aimed almost exclusively at the married adult population, it was found that most of the young people knew about family planning and had favourable attitudes. Many of the young people were found to be sexually active, but very few actually used any method of contraception. This study makes apparent the need to provide family planning education and services to young people in Kenya. In addition, the problem of a cross-cultural definition of youth is dealt with, and also the ethical implications of this type of research among young people.