EPISODE 21

HPSIG Podcasts

 

In this episode we speak to qualitative research specialist Dr Zoe Duby about the interaction between mental health, and sexual and reproductive health. Dr Duby describes how mental health narratives turned out to be a prominent feature in a study she was involved in that initially aimed to explore sexual and reproductive health outcomes among young South African women and girls, and how the interconnected and bidirectional nature of these realms of health was made clear: Participants' mental health both influenced, and was influenced by, negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes such as HIV diagnosis and early / ‘unintended’ pregnancy. We also look at why this topic is particularly pertinent among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa, and some of the recommendations Dr Duby and her research team propose based on their findings.