Characteristics of parent-adolescent communication about sexuality and HIV in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Adolescent females are a key target audience in the fight against sexually transmitted infections and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. One issue is that families in Africa play a very limited role in sex education. The objective of this study was to examine parent-child communication from a qualitative perspective by exploring the characteristics and quality of parent-child communication. A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and September 2009 in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). The study included 40 parent-child pairs (50% of in-school children and 50% of out-of-school children). Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted. The data were analyzed using Stata version 9.1 (quantitative data) and QSR Nvivo 2.0 (qualitative data). The study found that 74% (14/19) of out-of-school children communicated with their parents, compared to just 45% of in-school children (p = 0.07). Mother-child communication was found to be the most common type of parent-child communication, with 59% (13/22) of families who communicated about sexuality and HIV preferring mother-child communication. Further research is needed to identify the factors determining better communication among out-of-school children.