Experiences of Girls Dropping Out of Secondary School due to Unplanned Pregnancies in Southern Tanzania (original) (raw)
Related papers
School Based Reproductive Health Education and Teenage Pregnancy: A Case of Mtwara Region, Tanzania
Developing Country Studies, 2019
Teenage pregnancy is one of the complex health and development problems facing the world. In Tanzania adolescent pregnancy has been identified as one of the reasons for girls dropping out of school. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of school based reproductive health education programmes on teenage pregnancy. The study adopted a cross-sectional explanatory design and was conducted in Mtwara Region, Tanzania covering four secondary schools. Respondents for the study were randomly selected. Data was collected using a pre-structured questionnaire, focus groups discussions and key informant interviews. A total of 156 individuals participated in the study. Findings from the study show that school based reproductive health education programmes were effective in terms of knowledge creation. Generally, the results show a significant (P≤ 0.001) difference in reproductive health education between intervention and non-interventions schools. In addition, significant differences were also observed between rural and urban non-intervention schools. It is therefore concluded that school based reproductive health education programmes are effective in knowledge creation among adolescent girls. Hence, it is recommended that a comprehensive school based reproductive health education programme (SBRHEP) be instituted in schools as a way of reducing teenage pregnancies and spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STI's). However, for this to be more effective there is need for a standalone subject that only deals with reproductive health education rather than the status quo where it is offered under the biology subject.
Research Square (Research Square), 2023
Background Tanzania is among the countries with higher rates of adolescent pregnancy. In some parts of the country, 45% of teenage girls become pregnant before their nineteenth birthday; and the strategies to alleviate the situation remain partially understood. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge level of adolescents on sexuality issues and the factors contributing to teenage pregnancy, as well as the progress made by Tanzania in addressing this problem. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on students from four randomly selected secondary schools in Morogoro municipality; an area with a high rate of adolescent pregnancy in Tanzania. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Qualitative data from the study and data from the Demographic Health Surveys and Household Budget Surveys were analyzed by content analysis. Results Among the 250 respondents, 83.6% (n = 209) were in the age group 13-18 years and the rest (16.4%) were 19 + years. Most (96%, n = 240) mentioned that adolescent pregnancy is more common in poor societies, and 73.6% (n = 190) cited a lack of knowledge of reproductive health as a major contributing factor. More than 55% did not know any other method of contraception, apart from a male condom. Only 41.6% of female and 18.8% of male respondents correctly knew about the day of ovulation. From content analysis, it was revealed that girls' enrolment declines from 50% of the total in primary education to 30% of the total students' enrolment in colleges and universities. The overall teenage pregnancy rate in the country increased by 4 percentage points; from 23% in 2010 to 27% in 2016. Conclusions Adolescent girls in Tanzania are less empowered because they lack comprehensive sexuality education, hence, the higher rates of adolescent pregnancy. Introducing age-appropriate sexuality education and increasing girls' enrolment in secondary and tertiary education will signi cantly reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy.
Reproductive Health
Background Teenage pregnancies cause serious health, social and economic consequences including death among adolescent girls worldwide. It is estimated that in 2019 about 55% of unintended pregnancies among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years ended up in abortions, which are often unsafe in developing countries. Little was known about the magnitude of teenage pregnancy and its associated factors in Dodoma Tanzania. Therefore, the study aimed at establishing the magnitude and factors associated with teenage pregnancies among adolescents in Dodoma Region Tanzania. Method It was a community-based analytical cross-sectional study that included 539 adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years old. A multistage sampling technique was used to recruit study participants. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by using SPSS v23. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution of the entire study variable while the inferential sta...
Risk factors for unplanned pregnancy among young women in Tanzania
Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 2013
Background With effective contraceptives available, unplanned pregnancies are preventable and educational interventions have been cited as a promising platform to increase contraceptive use through improving knowledge. However, results from trials of educational interventions have been disappointing. In order to effectively target future interventions, this study aimed to identify risk factors for unplanned pregnancy among young women in Mwanza, Tanzania. Methods Data were analysed from the MEMA kwa Vijiana Trial Long-term Evaluation Survey, a cross-sectional study of 13 814 young adults aged 15-30 years in Mwanza, Tanzania. Potential risk factors for unplanned pregnancy were grouped under three headings: sociodemographic, knowledge of and attitude towards sexual health, and sexual behaviour and contraceptive use. Conditional logistic regression was used to identify predictors of reported unplanned pregnancy among all sexually active women. Results Increasing age, lower educational level, not being currently married, knowing where to access condoms, increasing number of sexual partners and younger reported age at sexual debut were associated with unplanned pregnancy. Discussion A number of demographic and sexual behaviour risk factors for pregnancy are identified which will help guide future intervention programmes aiming to reduce unplanned pregnancies. This study suggests effective measures to prevent unplanned pregnancies should focus on encouraging girls to stay in school.
2017
Premarital sex and adolescent pregnancy are among challenges to development. Globally Tanzania is among countries with highest rates of adolescent pregnancies having 44% of women become pregnant at teen age accounting for 40% of school dropouts. Despite provision of sex education in schools, the problem still persists with little information about its influence on adolescents' sexual behavior. This study, therefore, intended to identify and describe the influence of sex education on adolescents' involvement in premarital sex and adolescent pregnancies in Arusha City, Tanzania. The study population comprised adolescents aged 14-24 years. Descriptive survey, and purposive and snow ball sampling were employed. A pilot study was conducted to ensure validity and reliability of the study. Data collection was through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and documentary review with interview schedules and discussion checklists as instruments. Content analysis was used based on the objectives. The major findings were as follows; majority of the adolescents engage in sexual practices with multiple partners. Sex education guides adolescents to avoid premarital sex and reproduction but is also a factor in influencing adolescents' engagement in sexual acts. Based on the findings, the study recommends: government to ensure effective sex education by training teachers on the subject matter, providing appropriate instructional resources, making sex education a compulsory and independent subject for all students, schools to establish guidance and counseling sessions and work with stake holders to integrate moral values among adolescents, through reintroduction and improvement of religious classes and other curricula activities.
Developing Country Studies, 2017
Generally, adolescents/teenagers sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs are largely unmet in developing countries despite this group’s size. This paper examines teenage girls’ accessibility to reproductive health services and factors contributing to teenage pregnancy. The study on which the paper is based adopted a cross-sectional explanatory design and was conducted in Mtwara Region, Tanzania covering four secondary schools. Teenage girls in the four secondary schools were randomly selected to participate in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires, focus groups discussions and key informant interviews. A total of 156 people participated in the study. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPPS while qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. Generally, results show that teenage pregnancy is a major problem in Mtwara and the attributing factors include poverty, culture, desire for money, peer pressure, lack of education on reproductive health issues and poor...
BMC Women's Health, 2014
Background: The rate of premarital sexual activity, unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions remain higher among university students. This calls for understanding the knowledge on contraceptive use and sexual behaviours among this high risk group if the incidence of unintended pregnancy, illegal abortions and high sexual risky behaviour are to be minimized. This study aimed to assess ssexual behaviour, contraceptive knowledge and use among female undergraduates' students of Muhimbili and Dar es Salaam Universities in Tanzania. Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted among undergraduate female students in the two Universities located in Dar es Salaam region, Tanzania. The study period was from June 2013 to October 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was given to 281 students. Of these, 253 were retrieved, giving a response rate of 90%. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) for Windows version 17.0. Descriptive statistics were summarized. The chi square test was used to examine relationship between various sociodemographic and sexual behaviours variables with contraceptive use. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2021
High prevalence of teenage pregnancy in low-income countries impacts health, social, economic, and educational situations of teenage girls. To acquire better understanding of factors leading to high prevalence of teenage pregnancy in rural Lindi region, Tanzania, we explored perspectives of girls and key informants by conducting a facility-based explorative qualitative study according to the grounded theory approach. Participants were recruited from Mnero Diocesan Hospital using snowball sampling, between June and September 2018. Eleven pregnant teenagers, two girls without a teenage pregnancy, and eight other key informants were included. In-depth interviews (including photovoice) and field observations were conducted. Analysis of participant perspectives revealed five main themes: 1) lack of individual agency (peer pressure, limited decision-making power, and sexual coercion); 2) desire to earn money and get out of poverty; 3) dropping out of school contributing to becoming pregna...