ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Adolescent Reproductive Health and Well-being
This article is part of the Research TopicAddressing Sexual Health and Wellness: Personhood, Community Strengths, and Structural DimensionsView all 3 articles
Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Among Albanian University Students.
Provisionally accepted
- Universiteti Europian i Tiranes, Tirana, Albania
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract Background: Access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services remains limited among university students in Albania, despite global progress in HIV/STI prevention. Low awareness, stigma, and fragmented youth-friendly services continue to hinder preventive healthcare utilization. Understanding the factors shaping SRH-seeking behavior is essential for designing effective interventions. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,679 students from public and private universities in Albania (2024–2025). A structured, validated questionnaire assessed SRH knowledge, awareness of testing locations, condom access, and use of preventive services. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariable logistic regression were performed to identify predictors of HIV/STI testing, guided by Andersen's Behavioral Model. Results: SRH service utilization was low, with only 11.4% of students reporting STI screening and 7.6% HIV testing. Students who were aware of testing locations had significantly higher odds of ever being tested (OR = 7.52; 95% CI: 6.21–9.09). Gender differences were pronounced, female students were more likely to report condom non-use and uncertainty about access points. Although sexual health education was associated with testing in bivariate analyses, only parental communication remained significant in the adjusted model. Conclusions: Significant gaps in SRH awareness, access, and preventive healthcare engagement exist among Albanian university students. Enabling factors, particularly knowledge of service availability, play a greater role in influencing utilization than individual or predisposing characteristics, consistent with Andersen's Behavioral Model. Strengthening youth-friendly SRH services, increasing the visibility of testing sites, integrating SRH education into university programs, and addressing gender-specific barriers are essential to improve uptake of preventive SRH services in Albania.
Keywords: Andersen ' s behavioral model, Barriers & facilitative factors, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), university students, Western balkan contries
Received: 09 Sep 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gabrani, Merkuri, GJERGJI, Cela, Rugia and Kushta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jonila Gabrani
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.