Adolescents’ access to contraception: perceptions of health workers in Huechuraba, Chile

Translated English title: Adolescents’ access to contraception: perceptions of health workers in Huechuraba, Chile<br />In 2012, 14.4% of live births in Chile were to adolescent mothers, with nearly 900 births to mothers under the age of 15. In 2010, the difference between the poorest and richest communes in the Metropolitan Region of Chile, with respect to the number of children born to adolescent women, was 18.6 percentage points. This study aims to identify difficulties in adolescents’ access to contraceptive care and information, based on perceptions and experiences of health workers in Huechuraba, in the Metropolitan Region of Chile. In conclusion, adolescents and their needs have a low profile and there are conflicts between theory and practice regarding access to contraception and counselling, with a lack of definitions or agreements that take into account social and cultural contexts. It is urgent to provide health workers with training on gender and sexual and reproductive rights, together with opportunities for reflection in order to generate coordinated and effective approaches. Efforts are required to disseminate the program and organize activities in community spaces, together with other community sectors.

Rojas Ramírez G, Eguiguren Bravo P, Matamala Vivaldi MI, Palma Manríquez I, Gálvez Pérez G. Acceso a anticoncepción en adolescentes: percepciones de trabajadores de la salud en Huechuraba, Chile. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2017;41:e77