Knowledge about Adolescent Health and Its Issues among Mothers of a Selected Rural Area of Erumapetty Grama Panchayat, Thrissur District

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescence is the period from puberty to early adulthood. The World Health
Organization (WHO) describes adolescence as the period between 10 and 19 years. Worldwide, more
than 1.2 billion are adolescents; this indicates that roughly one in every six persons is an adolescent.
About 21% of Indian population is adolescents (about 243 million). They are the future of the nation,
forming a major demographic and economic force. In India, almost 72% of the adolescent population
resides in rural area. Adolescent population in urban areas declined from 21.9 in 2001 to 19.2% in
2011; while in rural areas, it remained more or less same. Hence the researcher identified the need to
assess the knowledge regarding adolescent health among mothers of rural area. Methodology: This is
a descriptive, study conducted at Ward II of Erumapetty Grama Panchayat. Samples were selected
through simple random sampling technique. In this study the sample size was 50 and the study was
conducted on 24 January 2021. Result: Assessment of existing knowledge about adolescence health
among mothers shows that highest percentage (42%) of the mothers had satisfactory knowledge
regarding adolescence health. 30% of mothers had poor knowledge and 24% had good knowledge.
Only 4% had excellent knowledge about adolescence health. The findings of the present study show
that there was no association between the knowledge scores and selected demographic variables.
Conclusion: The role of parents and other home-based influences in protecting and promoting
adolescent health is pivotal. A safe home where confronting issues are discussed openly is a starting
point for self-respect, esteem and confident decision making as children progress through their
teenage years. In the literature, mothers featured more prominently than fathers as mentors for their
children, particularly their daughters.