ArticleGlobal health action2026
Barriers to accessing contraceptive services for adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.
Article in Global health action, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continue to face significant barriers to accessing contraceptive services, despite global and regional commitments to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. This scoping review synthesises current evidence on the barriers adolescents encounter when seeking contraceptive services across SSA. Following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, a comprehensive literature search of peer-reviewed and grey literature published between January 2010 and January 2025 across multiple databases was conducted. A total of 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis revealed five major categories of barriers: individual-level [limited knowledge, fear of side effects, misconceptions], sociocultural [stigma, religious beliefs, parental disapproval], economic [cost of services and transportation], health system-related [provider attitudes, confidentiality concerns, facility accessibility], and policy/legal [age restrictions, mandatory parental consent, poor coordination among agencies]. The findings highlight how these multi-level barriers intersect to impede adolescents' access to contraception, contributing to high rates of early pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and sexually transmitted infections. Notably, research gaps remain regarding marginalised groups such as LGBTQ+ youth and adolescents with disabilities. The review emphasises the need for adolescent-centred policy reforms, improved provider training, expanded community engagement, and equitable financing mechanisms to support adolescent access to contraception. These findings can inform strategies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to health and gender equality in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.