Enhancing adolescent sexual, reproductive and mental health care in the West Bank
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
Poor mental health among adolescents is associated with increased risk for teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence, motor vehicle crashes, crime, homicide and suicide.Read more
Poor mental health among adolescents is associated with increased risk for teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence, motor vehicle crashes, crime, homicide and suicide. Providing comprehensive adolescent health services for West Bank and Gaza youth, including sexual, reproductive and mental health, relies on strengthening services and support within health facilities, schools, communities and families. Strengthening comprehensive sexuality education is one strategy to address some of the root drivers of poor health outcomes.
This multi-component implementation research project works with stakeholders across the health and education sector, and with different community groups, to develop context-specific content, processes and referral systems to benefit adolescent girls and boys. It will strengthen capacities of teachers, counsellors and school field officers on how to communicate with, help and educate adolescents on sexual and reproductive health and mental health issues.
A digital screening system will be developed that will support screening and referral between schools and health centres for the early detection of students’ mental health issues. It will also have the capacity to provide indicators to measure progress on implementation and policy efforts. In addition to increased knowledge of school health staff regarding the specific sexual, reproductive and mental health needs and services required by adolescents and enhanced competencies of health providers within the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, this project aims to achieve a shift in attitudes of health providers towards sexual, reproductive and mental health services and topics for adolescents.
This project is part of a cohort of new research projects in the Middle East and North Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean to support research on the understudied area of the interface between mental health and sexual and reproductive health and rights.