Interpretation of the characteristics of Youth friendly reproductive health services in Iran: A qualitative study

Background and Objectives: Adolescence is the time of the transition from childhood to adulthood; but it is also a formative period of the life habits in which many of the lifestyles are learned and established. This study was done to explore the views and experiences of adolescent girls and adults in order to clarify characteristics of youth-friendly reproductive health services. Materials and Methods: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted during the period February–November 2012. Data were collected by carrying out focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with 247 adolescent girls and 14 key adults, including school counselors and  health providers in Mashhad and Shahroud cities. All interviews and focus group discussions were recorded on two digital recorders and were transcribed. Routine content analysis, data coding and categorization were performed by MAXQDA10. Results: The characteristics of youth-friendly reproductive health services were classified in four categories: (1) personnel factors (2) physical and environmental factors of the services providers (3) management factors and (4) stimulus factors. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, establishing centers of reproductive health services for female adolescents of this age group can play an important role in preventing reproductive health problems them.