Your roles in addressing these barriers to RH service utilisation

Young people face major physical, psychological and social changes in life during which they may have many questions and concerns about what is happening in their life. While this period of life is generally considered as a healthy time of life, it is also a period when many behaviours that negatively affect health start. As a health professional you have important contributions to make in helping those young people who are well to stay well, and those who develop health problems get back to good health.

In this section you will learn how you can do this and thereby reduce the barriers to RH service utilisation by young people. You can do this in a number of ways. Some of the things you can do include:

• Recognising that young people have the right to access RH information and services.
• Improving and developing a positive attitude towards young people's sexual and RH needs. If you encounter a young person who is already sexually active, you need to help them in a non-judgemental manner.
• Providing them with appropriate information, counselling and services aimed at helping them maintain safe behaviours and modify unsafe ones (i.e. those that put them at risk of negative health outcomes).
• Identifying and managing health problems and unsafe behaviours.
• Referring them to nearby health facilities/hospitals for further help when necessary.
• Educating the community so that they can understand the needs of adolescents, and the importance of working together to respond to these needs.