{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]],"date-time":"2026-02-07T20:32:02Z","timestamp":1770496322434,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]],"date-time":"2025-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748304000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100006060","name":"Spina Bifida Association","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Ref GL0-3728 RAF-19\/00444"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Ref GL0-3728 RAF-19\/00444"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100006060","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Globally, 180 million young people aged 10\u201324 live with a physical or mental health disability. Their rights to sexual and reproductive health have been denied often overshadowed by the societal negative knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. This study sough to explore sexual and reproductive health challenges among adolescents and young people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus disability in Uganda.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This was an exploratory community based cross-sectional qualitative study among adolescents in Uganda. We conducted 60 semi structured interviews, 30 with Adolescents and young people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus and 30 with caregivers between March 2021 and February 2022 to explore their sexual and reproductive health challenges. Through thematic analysis, we identified common themes across the interviews regarding their challenges.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Participants reported a number of sexual and reproductive health challenges including sexual violence and abuse, incontinence and stigma, Inability to feel sexually empowered, other adolescents are coerced to take birth control methods without their informed decision. Negative Socio-cultural beliefs, lack of and inaccessible sexual reproductive health information and poor menstrual health management.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Adolescents and young people with spina bifida experience a number of sexual and reproductive challenges that are not given attention and often overshadowed by the negative knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices within the society. Therefore, there is need to develop and implement programs and awareness campaigns aimed for the empowerment of individuals with SB to seek knowledge and skill building regarding sexual and reproductive health.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0308194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]],"date-time":"2025-05-27T17:30:22Z","timestamp":1748367022000},"page":"e0308194","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Sexual and reproductive health challenges among adolescents and young people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus disability in Uganda: A qualitative study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9875-1667","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Denis","family":"Ndekezi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0060-0842","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Andrew Sentoogo","family":"Ssemata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-2712-7008","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ambrose","family":"Ganshanga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ruth","family":"Nalugya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0308194.ref001","author":"World Health Organization (WHO)","year":"2023"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0308194.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1136\/ip.2007.018143","article-title":"World report on child injury prevention","volume":"14","author":"L Sminkey","year":"2008","journal-title":"Injury Prev"},{"key":"pone.0308194.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.11604\/pamj.2019.33.299.18546","article-title":"Sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in schools for people with disabilities","volume":"33","author":"M Obasi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pan Afr Med J"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0308194.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1007\/s11195-015-9419-3","article-title":"Intersecting sexual and reproductive health and disability in humanitarian settings: risks, needs, and capacities of refugees with disabilities in Kenya, Nepal, and Uganda","volume":"33","author":"M Tanabe","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sex Disabil"},{"key":"pone.0308194.ref005","volume-title":"The economic costs of exclusion and gains of inclusion of people with disabilities","author":"LM Banks","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0308194.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2014.09.012","article-title":"Effective strategies to provide adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and to increase demand and community support","volume":"56","author":"DM Denno","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Adolesc Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0308194.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2016.03.037","article-title":"Sexuality and relationships in young people with spina bifida and their partners","volume":"59","author":"MK Heller","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Adolesc Health"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0308194.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1694","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsxm.2020.05.026","article-title":"\u201cI tell them what i can feel and how far my legs can bend\u201d: optimizing sexual satisfaction for women with spina bifida","volume":"17","author":"CS Streur","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Sex Med"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0308194.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1080\/1034912X.2014.998174","article-title":"Community knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices towards children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Uganda","volume":"62","author":"F Bannink","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int J Disabil Dev Ed"},{"key":"pone.0308194.ref010","unstructured":"Ganshanga A, Asasira J. 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Barriers to menstrual hygiene management faced by adolescents and young people with a disability, and their carers in the kavrepalanchok district, nepal. 2020.","DOI":"10.21203\/rs.3.rs-25447\/v1"},{"key":"pone.0308194.ref025","volume-title":"The convention on the rights of persons with disabilities","author":"T Guide","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0308194.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5422\/fso\/9780199565061.001.0001","volume-title":"The UN convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women: A commentary","author":"MA Freeman","year":"2012"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0308194","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]],"date-time":"2025-05-27T17:30:29Z","timestamp":1748367029000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0308194"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Devon J.","family":"Hensel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"editor","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]]},"references-count":26,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0308194","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]]}}}