MUKONO. Researchers at Uganda Christian University (UCU) have unveiled an interactive card game and a film aimed at helping parents and teenage girls openly discuss sexual and reproductive health as part of efforts to address teenage pregnancy in Mukono District.
The innovations were unveiled on Friday during the Olutindo research dissemination conference at UCU, which brought together researchers, health experts, parents, community leaders, young people and other stakeholders.
The conference was held under the theme, “Promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health Behaviour Change Among Teenage Girls in Mukono District Through Strategic Communication Intervention.”
The project’s Principal Investigator, Prof. James Kiwanuka Tondo, said the research was initiated in response to the high prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the district.
Citing the 2020 Mukono District Health Report, Prof. Tondo said 24 percent of girls aged between 13 and 19 had given birth and subsequently dropped out of school.
He said teenage pregnancy has consequences that extend beyond early motherhood, including school dropout, poor health, unemployment, poverty and limited economic opportunities for affected girls.
To understand the problem and identify possible solutions, the researchers consulted a wide range of stakeholders, including probation officers, health workers at Mukono General Hospital, police, education officials, non-governmental organisations, cultural and religious leaders, parents and adolescents.
The team also conducted a survey among teenage girls in Ntenjeru and Goma sub-counties and held discussions with parents and their children in Goma and Kasawo.
Prof. Tondo said one of the key findings was that many sexual and reproductive health interventions do not adequately involve adolescents in identifying the issues that affect them or determining how those issues should be addressed.
The study found that about half of the girls aged between 13 and 19 surveyed were already sexually active, a finding the researchers said challenges the assumption that adolescents are largely sexually inactive and therefore only require preventive messages.
The research also exposed a significant communication gap between parents and their children.
Although many parents struggle to initiate conversations about sex and sexual and reproductive health, 67 percent of the girls surveyed said they trusted their parents most when making decisions about sexual behaviour and related matters.
Only one percent of the respondents said they trusted religious leaders on such issues.
“These findings showed us that we needed to create a bridge between parents, guardians and teenage girls,” Prof. Tondo said.
In response, the research team developed the Olutindo card game, an interactive communication tool designed to help parents and adolescents discuss sexuality and reproductive health in a more relaxed and less confrontational setting.
The game carries the slogan “Breaking the Silence, One Card at a Time” and comes with a booklet to guide parents and guardians through conversations that can otherwise be difficult to start.
The project also produced a film depicting some of the challenges experienced by teenagers and their families. During the conference, participants used the film, together with a skit, to explore myths, misinformation, family difficulties and social pressures surrounding adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Dr Lillian Ssekabembe, the Country Representative of Population Services International (PSI) Uganda, said the significance of the research lies in its attempt to move beyond simply providing adolescents with information to creating trusted relationships through which young people can understand and act on that information.
She said knowledge alone does not necessarily lead to behaviour change because young people’s decisions are influenced by trust, beliefs, fear, peers, parents, partners and the wider community.
“Information is necessary, but information alone does not change behaviour,” Dr Ssekabembe said, emphasising the importance of trusted relationships between young people and adults.
She challenged parents to listen to their children instead of immediately judging or lecturing them, saying homes where young people can ask difficult questions without fear of punishment can become an important part of sexual and reproductive health interventions.
Dr Ssekabembe also urged health communicators to move away from messages that focus solely on what adolescents should avoid and instead link health decisions to the futures young people aspire to build.
She said communication should help adolescents understand how their choices affect their health, education, aspirations, dignity, relationships and future economic opportunities.
She further called for young people to be treated not merely as recipients of health information but as active participants in designing interventions intended for them.
Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi identified limited access to education, dysfunctional families, parental alcohol and drug abuse and harmful cultural beliefs among factors contributing to teenage pregnancy and other challenges affecting young people.
He said misinformation and myths about sexuality often thrive where adolescents lack access to reliable information, while family conflict and violence can have lasting effects on children’s attitudes and behaviour.
Prof. Mushengyezi commended the Olutindo team for developing practical communication tools rather than limiting the research findings to academic publications.
He said UCU had allocated Shs2.5 billion annually over the past five years to support research and innovation by staff and students, adding that priority should be given to research capable of creating a direct impact in communities.
He encouraged the researchers to make the Olutindo card game widely accessible through bookshops and other outlets and to consider producing versions in different local languages to expand its reach.
Shamina Kawuma, a health educator at the Ministry of Health, said misinformation about sexual and reproductive health remains widespread among young people, including misconceptions about pregnancy prevention.
She said the Ministry could use the research findings through its existing health communication structures, including community health workers, health educators and communication platforms at health facilities.
Kawuma also proposed digitising the Olutindo card game and its accompanying information so that young people can access the content through platforms such as WhatsApp and TikTok, which have large youth audiences.
She suggested displaying the information on screens in hospital waiting areas, saying health facilities already provide an opportunity to reach large numbers of young people and their caregivers with health messages.
She further said the Ministry could support translation of the materials into local languages and work with cultural institutions and other community structures to expand the initiative’s reach.
The researchers said the ultimate goal of the intervention is to strengthen communication between adolescents and trusted adults and create environments in which teenage girls can seek accurate information and guidance before making decisions that could affect their education, health and future.
English 