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Topic

The Role of the Internet in Providing Reproductive Health Information to Female Youths in the Middle East

School of Child and Youth Care

Date & location

• Tuesday, August 12, 2025

• 9:30 A.M.

• Virtual Defence

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Doris Kakuru, School of Child and Youth Care, ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ (Supervisor)

• Dr. Jennifer White, School of Child and Youth Care, UVic (Member) 

External Examiner

• Dr. Shayesteh Jahanfar, School of Medicine, Tufts University 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Natalie Ban, School of Environmental Studies, UVic

   

Abstract

This systematic review aims to identify the role of the Internet in providing reproductive health information to female youths in the Middle East, utilizing the “Cyberfeminism” framework and the Transtheoretical model of change. I imported 27 eligible studies (from 2005 to 2023) into the Covidence platform, extracted data, and analyzed them using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

My research questions are as follows: How does the Internet affect female youth’s access to reproductive health information in the Middle East? What are the internet-related barriers to female youth’s access to reproductive health information? How can female youth’s access to reproductive health information be improved? I found some themes that helped me to answer research questions: The first theme was “The effect of the Internet on access to reproductive health”. It shows that the Internet and social media are useful tools for providing female youths with reproductive health services and information in the Middle East. However, I found other themes as barriers that prevent female youths from accessing reproductive health information using the Internet and social media, including trust issues, technical barriers, governments, and low digital literacy. Based on my findings, accessible resources and a safe online space, education, high digital literacy, and female youths' empowerment would be facilitators that could help female youths access reproductive health information in the Middle East. In conclusion, the Internet and social media positively affect female youths’ reproductive health information in the Middle East. While some barriers prevent female youths from accessing that information, we can utilize facilitators to enhance their reproductive health information using the Internet and social media.