International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science

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Factors Associated with Agreeing to Early Childbearing Among School Girls of Selected Rural Districts in Zambia

Received: 12 March 2019    Accepted: 17 April 2019    Published: 20 May 2019
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Abstract

Background: The Zambia Demographic Health survey conducted in 2014 reported a notable number of adolescent girls 3627(11.7%) who had their first sexual intercourse by age 15 and the Zambia National Health Strategic Plan 2017-2021 highlighted the high adolescent birth rate which stood at 141 per 1000 live births between the years 2013 and 2014. In this paper, we adopted the WHO definition of an Adolescent as any person between the ages of 10 to 19 years. This study aimed at investigating baseline factors that leads to agreeing into early childbearing practices among adolescent girls in selected rural districts of Zambia nested in the RISE cluster randomized trial. In this study early childbearing was taken to mean any pregnancy before the age of 16. Methods: This study is a nested quantitative cross-sectional design. Participants were girls attending grade seven at various schools in 2016. Information on factors that could influence the participants’ view on childbearing were collected at baseline. A complete enumeration of approximately 5000 girls recruited in 12 rural districts of Central and Southern provinces were analysed. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies and percentages in tables. To check for association with categorical variables, either Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test was done depending on whether the assumptions for Chi-squared test were satisfied or not. Univariate and Multiple Logistic regression analysis was used to test the association between independent factors and early childbearing. Clustering in the study was accounted for using robust standard errors. Results: The findings showed that more than two-thirds 3189 (73.7%) of the participants had little or no knowledge regarding adolescent sexual and reproductive health services while less than one-third 1137 (26%) had knowledge regarding Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health services. Adolescents with mobile phones were 2.5 times more likely to have children early compared to adolescents without mobile phones. Majority 227 (69%) who agreed to early childbearing were aged 10 to 15 years, whilst the least 99(30.3%) were in the age range of 16 to 20 years. In addition, results revealed that one-year increase in age of an adolescent girl increases agreeing to early childbearing by 30% (OR=1.30, 95% CI (1.01, 1.67), p- value=0.03). Overall, very few factors (mobile phone and age) at baseline were found to be associated with agreeing to early childbearing. Conclusions: Only mobile phone use and age were associated with agreeing to early childbearing.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17
Published in International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science (Volume 5, Issue 1, June 2019)
Page(s) 52-58
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Early Childbearing, Knowledge, Adolescent, Reproductive Health

References
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[5] Amoran OE. A comparative analysis of predictors of teenage pregnancy and its prevention in a rural town in Western Nigeria. International journal for equity in health 2012; 11 (1): 1-7.
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[7] Lloyd CB, Mensch BS et al. Marriage and childbirth as factors in dropping out from school: An analysis of DHS data from sub-Saharan Africa. Popul Stud (Camb) 2008; 62 (1): 1-13.
[8] Walker, J et al. Early Marriage in Africa Trends, Harmful Effects and Interventions Zones of early marriages in Africa. African Journal of Reproductive Health. 2012; 16 (2): 231–240.
[9] Gibbons et al. "Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1998; 12 (8) 61-64
[10] Hinduja S, Patchin, J et al. Offline consequences of online victimization. school violence and deliquency 2010; 6 (3): 89-112.
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Author Information
  • School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

  • School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

  • School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Centre for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child health (CISMAC), Centre for International Health (CIH), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

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    Priscilla Nkonde, Cheelo Mweene, Patrick Musonda. (2019). Factors Associated with Agreeing to Early Childbearing Among School Girls of Selected Rural Districts in Zambia. International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science, 5(1), 52-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17

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    Priscilla Nkonde; Cheelo Mweene; Patrick Musonda. Factors Associated with Agreeing to Early Childbearing Among School Girls of Selected Rural Districts in Zambia. Int. J. HIV/AIDS Prev. Educ. Behav. Sci. 2019, 5(1), 52-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17

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    AMA Style

    Priscilla Nkonde, Cheelo Mweene, Patrick Musonda. Factors Associated with Agreeing to Early Childbearing Among School Girls of Selected Rural Districts in Zambia. Int J HIV/AIDS Prev Educ Behav Sci. 2019;5(1):52-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17,
      author = {Priscilla Nkonde and Cheelo Mweene and Patrick Musonda},
      title = {Factors Associated with Agreeing to Early Childbearing Among School Girls of Selected Rural Districts in Zambia},
      journal = {International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science},
      volume = {5},
      number = {1},
      pages = {52-58},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijhpebs.20190501.17},
      abstract = {Background: The Zambia Demographic Health survey conducted in 2014 reported a notable number of adolescent girls 3627(11.7%) who had their first sexual intercourse by age 15 and the Zambia National Health Strategic Plan 2017-2021 highlighted the high adolescent birth rate which stood at 141 per 1000 live births between the years 2013 and 2014. In this paper, we adopted the WHO definition of an Adolescent as any person between the ages of 10 to 19 years. This study aimed at investigating baseline factors that leads to agreeing into early childbearing practices among adolescent girls in selected rural districts of Zambia nested in the RISE cluster randomized trial. In this study early childbearing was taken to mean any pregnancy before the age of 16. Methods: This study is a nested quantitative cross-sectional design. Participants were girls attending grade seven at various schools in 2016. Information on factors that could influence the participants’ view on childbearing were collected at baseline. A complete enumeration of approximately 5000 girls recruited in 12 rural districts of Central and Southern provinces were analysed. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies and percentages in tables. To check for association with categorical variables, either Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test was done depending on whether the assumptions for Chi-squared test were satisfied or not. Univariate and Multiple Logistic regression analysis was used to test the association between independent factors and early childbearing. Clustering in the study was accounted for using robust standard errors. Results: The findings showed that more than two-thirds 3189 (73.7%) of the participants had little or no knowledge regarding adolescent sexual and reproductive health services while less than one-third 1137 (26%) had knowledge regarding Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health services. Adolescents with mobile phones were 2.5 times more likely to have children early compared to adolescents without mobile phones. Majority 227 (69%) who agreed to early childbearing were aged 10 to 15 years, whilst the least 99(30.3%) were in the age range of 16 to 20 years. In addition, results revealed that one-year increase in age of an adolescent girl increases agreeing to early childbearing by 30% (OR=1.30, 95% CI (1.01, 1.67), p- value=0.03). Overall, very few factors (mobile phone and age) at baseline were found to be associated with agreeing to early childbearing. Conclusions: Only mobile phone use and age were associated with agreeing to early childbearing.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Factors Associated with Agreeing to Early Childbearing Among School Girls of Selected Rural Districts in Zambia
    AU  - Priscilla Nkonde
    AU  - Cheelo Mweene
    AU  - Patrick Musonda
    Y1  - 2019/05/20
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17
    T2  - International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science
    JF  - International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science
    JO  - International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science
    SP  - 52
    EP  - 58
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5765
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.17
    AB  - Background: The Zambia Demographic Health survey conducted in 2014 reported a notable number of adolescent girls 3627(11.7%) who had their first sexual intercourse by age 15 and the Zambia National Health Strategic Plan 2017-2021 highlighted the high adolescent birth rate which stood at 141 per 1000 live births between the years 2013 and 2014. In this paper, we adopted the WHO definition of an Adolescent as any person between the ages of 10 to 19 years. This study aimed at investigating baseline factors that leads to agreeing into early childbearing practices among adolescent girls in selected rural districts of Zambia nested in the RISE cluster randomized trial. In this study early childbearing was taken to mean any pregnancy before the age of 16. Methods: This study is a nested quantitative cross-sectional design. Participants were girls attending grade seven at various schools in 2016. Information on factors that could influence the participants’ view on childbearing were collected at baseline. A complete enumeration of approximately 5000 girls recruited in 12 rural districts of Central and Southern provinces were analysed. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies and percentages in tables. To check for association with categorical variables, either Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test was done depending on whether the assumptions for Chi-squared test were satisfied or not. Univariate and Multiple Logistic regression analysis was used to test the association between independent factors and early childbearing. Clustering in the study was accounted for using robust standard errors. Results: The findings showed that more than two-thirds 3189 (73.7%) of the participants had little or no knowledge regarding adolescent sexual and reproductive health services while less than one-third 1137 (26%) had knowledge regarding Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health services. Adolescents with mobile phones were 2.5 times more likely to have children early compared to adolescents without mobile phones. Majority 227 (69%) who agreed to early childbearing were aged 10 to 15 years, whilst the least 99(30.3%) were in the age range of 16 to 20 years. In addition, results revealed that one-year increase in age of an adolescent girl increases agreeing to early childbearing by 30% (OR=1.30, 95% CI (1.01, 1.67), p- value=0.03). Overall, very few factors (mobile phone and age) at baseline were found to be associated with agreeing to early childbearing. Conclusions: Only mobile phone use and age were associated with agreeing to early childbearing.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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