Dataset Information

Access to mass media and teenage pregnancy among adolescents in Zambia: a national cross-sectional survey.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Teenage pregnancies and childbirths are associated with negative health outcomes. Access to health information enables adolescents to make appropriate decisions. However, the relationship between access to health information through mass media and teenage pregnancy has not received much attention in existing literature. We therefore examined the association between access to mass media and teenage pregnancy in Zambia.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Zambia.

Participants

Weighted sample of 3000 adolescents aged 15-19 years.

Outcome measure

Teenage pregnancy that included adolescents who were currently pregnant or had had an abortion or had given birth in the last 5 years preceding the survey.

Results

Out of 3000 adolescents, 897 (29.9%, 95% CI: 28.1% to 31.3%) were pregnant or had ever been pregnant. Majority of the adolescents resided in rural areas (55.9%) and had secondary education (53.6%). Adolescents who had exposure to internet, newspapers or magazines, radio and television were 10.5%, 22.6%, 43.1% and 43.1%, respectively. Adolescents who had daily access to newspapers or magazines (adjusted OR (AOR): 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13 to 0.82) or using internet (AOR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.95) were less likely to be pregnant or to have had a pregnancy compared with those with no access to newspapers and internet, respectively.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that internet use and reading of newspapers or magazines may trigger behavioural change as an effective approach to reducing teenage pregnancy. Behavioural change communicators can implement mass media campaigns using newspapers, magazines and the internet to publicise adolescent health messages that can encourage adolescents to adopt healthy behaviours and prevent teenage pregnancies.

SUBMITTER: Sserwanja Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9198694 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundModern contraceptive use among adolescents is low despite the adverse effects of adolescent pregnancies. Understanding correlates of modern contraceptive use in different settings is key to the design of effective context-specific interventions. We aimed to determine factors associated with modern contraceptives use among adolescents in rural and urban settings of Zambia.MethodsWe analyzed secondary data from 2018 Zambia demographic and health survey (ZDHS) focusing on adolescent girls aged 15-19 years. We used multivariable logistic regression in SPSS version 25 to examine rural-urban variations in factors associated with modern contraceptive utilization.ResultsOverall, 12.0% (360/3000, 95% CI: 10.9-13.2) of adolescents in Zambia were using modern contraceptives. Use of modern contraceptives was higher in rural areas at 13.7% (230/1677, 95% CI: 12.1-15.3) compared to 9.8% (130/1323, 95% CI: 8.3-11.6) in urban areas. In the rural areas, having a child (aOR = 13.99; 95% CI 8.60-22.77), being married (aOR = 2.13; 95% CI 1.42-3.18), being older at 19 years (aOR = 3.90; 95% CI 1.52-10.03), having been visited by a field health worker (aOR = 1.62; 95% CI 1.01-2.64), having been exposed to family planning messages on mass media (aOR = 2.87; 95% CI 1.01-8.18) and belonging to the richest wealth quintile (aOR = 2.27; 95% CI 1.43-3.62) were associated with higher odds of contraceptive utilization. Furthermore, adolescents in the Northern (aOR = 0.29; 95% CI 0.11-0.80) and Luapula (aOR = 0.35; 95% CI 0.15-0.81) provinces were associated with less odds of utilizing contraceptives compared to those in Western province. In the urban areas, older age at 19 years (aOR = 4.80; 95% CI 1.55-14.84) and having a child (aOR = 18.52; 95% CI 9.50-36.14) were the only factors significantly associated with modern contraceptive utilization.ConclusionAge and having a child were associated with modern contraceptive use in both rural and urban areas. In rural areas (province, marital status, being visited by field health workers, family planning messages exposure and wealth index) were the only associated factors. This indicates that interventions aiming to increase contraceptive utilization should be context specific.

Project description:Teenage pregnancy and child marriage are prevalent in Zambia and are complexly interrelated issues with common causes and effects. The aim of this study was to explore factors in the social and cultural environment shaping young people's sexual behaviour, with specific attention to teenage pregnancy and child marriage in Eastern Zambia. The study was conducted in selected wards in Petauke, Chadiza and Katete districts, using an exploratory mixed-method design including a household survey, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The participants included 1,434 young females and males aged 15 to 24, female and male parents and caregivers; grandmothers; traditional leaders; teachers; health and social workers; representatives from youth associations, community-based and non-governmental organizations; and district level policy makers. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis and NVivo was used to manage the data, while survey data were analysed using Stata. The study revealed a high prevalence rate of teenage pregnancy (48%) and child marriage (13%) among young women. The mean age at first pregnancy or fatherhood was lower among female (17) than male respondents (20). A clear interlinkage between teenage pregnancy and child marriage was found, the two issues were mutually reinforcing. While teenage pregnancy appeared both as a cause and consequence of child marriage, marriage was mostly a common response to pregnancy. Early sexual debut, limited knowledge and use of contraception, poverty and limited future perspectives as well as sexual and gender norms were identified as the main causative factors of teenage pregnancy and therefore, child marriage. Based on the findings, a conceptual model to explain the interrelationships between young people's sexual behaviour, teenage pregnancy and child marriage is discussed. To address teenage pregnancy and child marriage in Eastern Zambia, there is a need to look into the realities and needs of young people regarding sex and relationships.

Project description:BackgroundGlobally, over half of maternal deaths are related to pregnancy-related complications. Provision of a continuum of care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period results in reduced maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Hence this study determined the prevalence of the continuum of care and its determinants among women in Zambia.MethodsWe used weighted data from the Zambian Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) of 2018 for 7325 women aged 15 to 49 years. Multistage stratified sampling was used to select study participants. Complete continuum of care was considered when a woman had; at least four antenatal care (ANC) contacts, utilized a health facility for childbirth and had at least one postnatal check-up within six weeks. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to explore continuum of care in Zambia. All our analyses were done using SPSS version 25.ResultsOf the 7,325 women, 38.0% (2787/7325) (95% confidence interval (CI): 36.9-39.1) had complete continuum of maternal healthcare. Women who had attained tertiary level of education (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.93, 95% CI: 1.09-3.42) and whose partners had also attained tertiary level of education (AOR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.54-4.32) were more likely to utilize the whole continuum of care compared to those who had no education. Women who initiated ANC after the first trimester (AOR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.39-0.53) were less likely to utilize the whole continuum of care compared to those who initiated in the first semester. Women with exposure to radio (AOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.27-1.96) were more likely to utilize the whole continuum of care compared to those who were not exposed to radio. Women residing in the Western province were less likely to utilize the entire continuum of care compared to those in the other nine provinces.ConclusionLevel of education of the women and of their partners, early timing of ANC initiation, residing in other provinces other than the Western province, and exposure to information through radio were positively associated with utilization of the entire continuum of care. Improving literacy levels and promoting maternity services through radio may improve the level of utilization of maternity services.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:Recent studies have suggested that sexual minorities are more likely to have poor sleep quality. This study aims to explore sleep quality among sexual minority adolescents and examines the association between sexual minority status and sleep quality. DESIGN:Cross-sectional survey. SETTING:A total of 506 high schools in seven Chinese provinces. PARTICIPANTS:A total of 150 822 students in grades 7-12 completed the questionnaires, and 123 459 students who reported being aware of their sexual orientation were included in analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sexual attraction and school bullying victimisation. RESULTS:Of the 123 459 students who were analysed, 5.00% self-reported as sexual minorities. Only 26.67% of sexual minority students slept 8 or more hours/day, which is less than their heterosexual peers (35.70%; χ2=130.04, P<0.001). Of the total sample, 22.41% of the students reported poor sleep quality, and this prevalence was significantly higher in sexual minority students than in heterosexual students (32.56% vs 21.87%; χ2=281.70, P<0.001). After controlling for social demographics, lifestyle and depressive symptoms, sexual minority students had higher odds of poor sleep quality (adjusted OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.51) than their heterosexual peers. The indirect effect of school bullying victimisation (standardised β estimate=0.007, 95% CI 0.006 to 0.009) was significant, indicating that school bullying victimisation partially mediated the association between sexual minority status and sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS:Our study suggested that poor sleep quality was common in sexual minority adolescents, and more attention should be paid to sleep problems in this population. Conducting interventions to reduce school bullying behaviours is an important step to improving sleep quality in sexual minority adolescents. Further, studies are warranted that focus on the risk factors and mechanisms of and interventions for sleep problems in sexual minority adolescents.