Background: Media plays a primary role as a source of information on the reproductive health for young adults. Some young adults in Nigeria have access to the Internet, television, and digital technology, which exposes them to a lot of sexual information that has both positive and negative influence.
Aim: The study aimed to identify the motivating factors and the sources of reproductive health information among out-of-school young adults in Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State.
Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey of young adults in Ido Local Government Area. A total of 413 respondents (52.8% males and 47.2% females) were sampled and a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents aged 15-24 years. The Chi-Square statistical method was used to derive if there are significant association between selected variables and motivation of the young adults.
Results: The mean age of the respondents was 19.9±2.8?and 44.3% were learning dress making (tailoring). Sources of information about reproductive health were parents (59.8%), radio (45.5%), health provider/clinic (41.6%) and friends (39.7%). Respondents disclosed that unavailability of parents (42.4%) and easy internet accessibility (85.7%) motivated them to seek reproductive health information (RHI) on social media. Parents were the most preferred source of RHI (44.3%). The association between motivation with age and gender was significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Young adults are motivated to seek RHI due to easy access to social media and internet, however, they prefer to go to their parents for the information. The study recommended that parents should get awareness on RHI and be available for their children while stakeholders should populate the social media with verified and helpful information on reproductive health.
Keywords: Sources of information, reproductive health, young adults, Nigeria