Dataset Information

Stigma surrounding contraceptive use and abortion among secondary school teachers: A cross-sectional study in Western Kenya.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Comprehensive sexual education plays an essential role in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The study aim was to investigate Kenyan secondary school teachers' attitudes toward girls associated with contraceptive use and abortion.

Study design

We conducted a cross-sectional study in January 2018 among school teachers (n = 144) at 4 religiously affiliated suburban secondary schools in Kenya and used 2 validated Likert Scales (1-5) to capture contraception and abortion stigma.

Results

Overall, 122 teachers responded (85%) (females, 57%; males 43%; age, 21-70 years [mean, 36]). Respondents associated contraceptive use with a promiscuous lifestyle (43%) that will encourage peers to do the same (51%). Respondents indicated that married women were more deserving of contraception than unmarried women (57%), a girl could not herself decide to use contraceptives (50%), and contraceptive use could impair future fertility (57%). Abortion was considered a sin (74%), shameful for the family (48%), a habit (34%), and a behavior that might encourage peers to do the same (51%). Many believed an abortion will lead to worse health (73%). Male and female teachers gave similarly distributed responses. Younger teachers were more likely to find abortion shameful (<29, 64%; 30-39, 39%; ?40, 39%; p = 0.046). Contraception stigma and abortion stigma were highly correlated (r = 0.355, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Stigmatizing attitudes associated with contraceptive use and/or abortion were common among teachers in Western Kenya.

Implications

Stigma may hinder the sexual and reproductive health and rights of students. Contraceptive use and abortion stigma need to be addressed in teacher education to ultimately improve health outcomes among adolescents.

SUBMITTER: Meurice ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7907706 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Stigma surrounding contraceptive use and abortion among secondary school teachers: A cross-sectional study in Western Kenya.

Meurice Marielle E ME Otieno Beatrice B Chang Jenny J JJ Makenzius Marlene M

Contraception: X 20210207

<h4>Objectives</h4>Comprehensive sexual education plays an essential role in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The study aim was to investigate Kenyan secondary school teachers' attitudes toward girls associated with contraceptive use and abortion.<h4>Study design</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional study in January 2018 among school teachers (<i>n =</i> 144) at 4 religiously affiliated suburban secondary schools in Kenya and used 2 validated Likert Scales (1-5) to capt ...[more]

PMID: 33665607

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Project description:BACKGROUND:In Kenya, unsafe abortion is the leading cause of maternal deaths in adolescent girls aged 15-19 years, and a majority did not use a modern contraceptive before becoming pregnant. The aim of this study was to explore attitudes related to abortion and contraceptive use among secondary school teachers and student peer-counsellors in a low-resource setting in western Kenya. METHODS:A mixed methods design, combining a questionnaire-survey and focus group discussions (FGDs), was utilised to explore attitudes to abortion and contraceptive use among teachers (n = 15) and student peer-counsellors (n = 21) at a secondary school in Kisumu, Kenya. First, two Likert scale questionnaires were used: a modified version of the Stigmatising Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions (SABA) scale and the Contraceptive Use Stigma (CUS) scale. Secondly, four FGDs were conducted. Descriptive statistics and Abductive Thematic Network Analysis (ATNA) were used to analyse the data. RESULTS:Overall, Social judgments on abortion and contraceptive use were found among teachers and student peer-counsellors, with similar patterns between sexes. Christian and cultural values; A majority, 28/36 considered abortion a sin, and chastity and purity before marriage were highly valued feminine ideals. Discrimination and isolation; 18/36 believed that a girl who has had an abortion might be a bad influence on other girls, and 13/35 stated that an adolescent girl cannot decide for herself if to use a contraceptive method. Conflicting views on abortion and contraceptives; A third (11/34) believed that contraceptives may cause infertility, and its use was related to promiscuity. Girls associated with abortion and contraceptive use were considered immoral, lacking parental guidance, and were used to represent bad examples in school. Although conflicting views were present, sexuality was considered a taboo topic, which left adolescents ignorant on contraceptive use. CONCLUSIONS:Adolescent girls associated with abortion and contraceptive use are at risk for social judgements and discrimination, by both peers and teachers. Sexual and reproductive health training needs to be implemented in teacher education to increase knowledge on adolescent sexuality, abortion and contraceptive use to improve adolescents' sexual health and decrease the stigma. TRIAL REGISTRATION:This was a prestudy nested in a cluster randomised intervention study, registered on February 28, 2017, at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03065842).

Project description:BACKGROUND:Stigma related to abortion and contraceptive use is a serious public health threat for young people, and validated scales to measure this stigma are scarce. The purposes of the study were to validate a newly constructed scale to measure the stigma of contraceptive use and to adapt a scale to measure the stigma of abortion. METHODS:A study nested in a cluster-randomised trial. In 2017, data was collected from 633 secondary school youths, in a semi-urban setting in western Kenya. A qualitative pre-phase (face-validity) were initially utilised to draft and validate a seven-item scale to capture contraceptive use stigma (CUS) and to adapt the Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions (SABA) scale (18 items), which captures aspects of abortion stigma. Statistical tests used included test-retest reliability analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficients, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Factor Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, interclass correlation and Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS:For the CUS scale, paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed no significant score changed between time points (p?=?0.64; 0.67). CUS had similar patterns between time points, with two relevant components: promiscuity and lack of autonomy. Cronbach's alpha indicated acceptable internal consistency between time points (0.71;0.7). The confirmatory factor loadings for each item in the modified three subscales of SABA had a similar pattern to the original SABA scale, in particularly regarding negative stereotyping and, excluding and discriminating factors. The Cronbach's alpha was adequate, although lower for the modified SABA (0.74) as compared to the original SABA (0.9). The SABA scale was renamed into Adolescents Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs and Action (ASABA) scale. CONCLUSIONS:The CUS scale is considered valid and reliable for measuring contraceptive use stigma, and the ASABA scale was rated as reliable for capturing abortion stigma based on negative stereotyping and excluding and discriminating factors. The CUS, up to date the first ever proposed CUS scale, and the ASABA scale can be used to measure effects of stigma reduction interventions with the aim of preventing unintended pregnancies, motherhood and unsafe abortion among adolescents in Kenya and similar low-resource settings.

Project description:AIM:The aim was to explore contraceptive uptake, associated factors and satisfaction among post abortion-care (PAC) seeking women in Kenya. Due to unsafe abortions, almost 120 000 Kenyan women received PAC in 2012, and of these women, 70% did not use contraception before pregnancy. METHODS:This study was nested in a larger randomised controlled trial, where 859 women sought PAC at two public hospitals in Kisumu, in June 2013-May 2016. The women were randomly assigned to a midwife or a physician for PAC, including contraceptive counselling, and followed up at 7-10 days and three months. Associated factors for contraceptive uptake were analysed with binary logistic regression, and contraceptive method choice, adherence and satisfaction level were examined by descriptive statistics, using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. RESULTS:Out of the 810 PAC-seeking women, 76% (n = 609) accepted the use of contraception. Age groups of 21-25 (OR: 2.35; p < 0.029) and 26-30 (OR: 2.22; p < 0.038), and previous experience of 1-2 gravidities (OR 1.939; p = 0.018) were independent factors associated with the up-take. Methods used: injections 39% (n = 236); pills 27% (n = 166); condoms 25% (n = 151); implant 7% (n = 45) and intrauterine device (IUD) 1% (n = 8). At 3-month follow-up of the women (470/609; 77%), 354 (75%) women still used contraception, and most (n = 332; 94%) were satisfied with the method. Reasons for discontinuation were side-effects (n = 44; 39%), partner refusal (n = 27; 24%), planned pregnancy (n = 27; 24%) and lack of resupplies (n = 15; 13%). CONCLUSIONS:PAC-seeking women seem highly motivated to use contraceptives, yet a quarter decline the use, and at 3-month follow-up a further quarter among the users had discontinued. Implant, IUD and permanent method are rarely used. Strategies to improve contraceptive counselling, particularly to adolescent girls, and to increase access to a wide range of methods, as well as provider training and supervision may help to improve contraceptive acceptance and compliance among PAC-seeking women in Kisumu, Kenya.

Project description:Adolescent pregnancy represents a serious public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, and stigmatising attitudes are contributing factors. This study investigates stigmatising attitudes related to adolescent pregnancy, abortion and contraceptive use among healthcare providers working with postabortion care (PAC) in a low-resource setting in Kenya.A mixed methods approach in a convergent design was utilised to capture attitudes related to abortion and contraceptive use among 86 (f=62; m=19) PAC providers in Kisumu, Kenya. Two Likert-scale questionnaires were used: the 18-item Stigmatising Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions Scale (SABAS) and the 7-item Contraceptive Use Stigma Scale (CUSS). 74 PAC providers responded to the SABAS, 44 to the CUSS and 12 participated in two focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics, psychometric tests of instruments and qualitative content analysis were conducted and reported in accordance with Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research.Cronbach's ? coefficients for the total instrument was 0.88 (SABAS) and 0.84 (CUSS). The majority, 92% (68/74) agreed that a woman who has had an abortion should be treated equally to everyone else, 27% (20/74) considered abortion a sin and 30% (22/74) believed she will make abortion a habit. Contraceptive use among adolescent women was associated with promiscuity (39%; 17/44), hence contraceptives should only be available to married women (36%; 16/44), and 20% (9/44) believed that contraceptive use causes infertility. The providers encouraged women's autonomy and their rights to sexual and reproductive health; however, unclear regulations reinforce religious and cultural beliefs, which hampers implementation of evidence-based contraceptive counselling.Stigmatising attitudes towards young women in need of abortion and contraception is common among PAC providers. Their work is characterised by a conflict between human rights and societal norms, thus highlighting the need for interventions targeting PAC providers to reduce stigma and misconceptions related to abortion and contraception among adolescent women.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough abortions are a common aspect of people's reproductive lives, the economic implications of abortion and the stigmas that surround abortion are poorly understood. This article provides an analysis of secondary data from a scoping review on the economic impact of abortion to understand the intersections between stigma and economics outcomes at the microeconomic (i.e., abortion seekers and their households), mesoeconomic (i.e., communities and health systems), and macroeconomic (i.e., societies and nation states) levels.Methods and findingsWe conducted a scoping review using the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews. Studies reporting on qualitative and/or quantitative data from any world region were considered. For inclusion, studies must have examined one of the following microeconomic, mesoeconomic, or macroeconomic outcomes: costs, benefits, impacts, and/or value of abortion-related care or abortion policies. Our searches yielded 19,653 items, of which 365 items were included in our final inventory. As a secondary outcome, every article in the final inventory was screened for abortion-related stigma, discrimination, and exclusion. One quarter (89/365) of the included studies contained information on stigma, though only 32 studies included stigma findings directly tied to economic outcomes. Studies most frequently reported stigma's links with costs (n = 24), followed by economic impact (n = 11) and economic benefit (n = 1). Abortion stigma can prevent women from obtaining correct information about abortion services and laws, which can lead to unnecessary increases in costs of care and sizeable delays in care. Women who are unable to confide in and rely on their social support network are less likely to have adequate financial resources to access abortion.ConclusionsAbortion stigma has a clear impact on women seeking abortion or post-abortion care at each level. Programmatic interventions and policies should consider how stigma affects delays to care, access to accurate information, and available social and financial support, all of which have economic and health implications.

Dataset Information

Stigma surrounding contraceptive use and abortion among secondary school teachers: A cross-sectional study in Western Kenya.

Objectives

Study design

Results

Conclusions

Implications

Publications

Stigma surrounding contraceptive use and abortion among secondary school teachers: A cross-sectional study in Western Kenya.

Similar Datasets

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