Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in Malawi
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Date
2020-09-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
Abstract
Introduction: adolescent pregnancy is one of the top reproductive health problems affecting
young people across the globe. Following pregnancy, adolescents are 1.6 times likely to face
obstetric complications which eventually lead to maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
The type of research study: This study is a population based cross sectional case control, a
secondary data analysis of the Malawi demographic health survey 2015-16
The main aim of the study is to establish the determinants of adolescent pregnancy among girls
aged 15 to 17 years in Malawi.
Underlying cause of high teenage pregnancy prevalence needs to be further investigated and
explored with the aim of developing targeted strategies.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
• To examine trends in the reproductive health knowledge among teens
• To identify determinants of child bearing among 15-17 year olds
• To describe reproductive health knowledge among adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 in
Malawi
• To examine determinants of child bearing among 15-17 year olds in Malawi
METHODOLOGY
Study Design
This study is a population based cross sectional designase control, a secondary data analysis of
adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 according to the Malawi demographic health survey 2015-16
where cases which are adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 years.
Study Place
The Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) was implemented in the 28 districts of
Malawi thus a nationally representative sample that provides estimate at national and regional
levels of the urban and rural areas.
Study population
The secondary data collected in the DHS 2015-16 on adolescent girls between 15 to 17 years of
age in Malawi who were pregnant or had given birth to their first child during the period of the
survey will be used.
Study Period
This study will be conducted from April 2019 to January 2021August 2020. This is a period
between proposal development, submission and approval by college of medicine ethics
committee, to data collection, analysis, reporting and dissemination of findings.
Data collection
The national statistics office (NSO) recruited 268 individuals to serve as team leaders, field
editors, interviewers and secondary data editors who went under training on interviewing
techniques and went through a review of questionnaire content. Data collection was completed
by 37 field teams, with each including one team leader, one field editor, three female
interviewers, one male interviewer, collection of data took place from 19 October 2015 through
17 February 2016. This study will focus on the following variables:-
Dependent variable
“age at first birth”. Women who were pregnant or had birth to their first child at ages between 15
to 17 years during the study period.
Independent variables
region (south, central and north), residence (rural or urban), current age (15year olds, 16 year
olds, 17 year olds), marital status (never married and in a marital union) and wealth index (poor,
middle, and rich), education level (no education, primary, secondary)
Data management and analysis
Data collected was stored in a password protected computer at the NSO Zomba and according to
the MDHS report.
Bivariate analysis using Pearson chi-squared test will be carried out to examine the relationship
between teenage pregnancy and each variable like place or residence, current age, education
level and marital status. Variables that are potentially significant will be further analyzed using a
multiple regression model.
Possible Constraints
This study, being a secondary data analysis, uses data which has been collected for purposes
other than this study therefore it is inherent in its nature.
It is also not possible to follow up clients therefore additional data from study participants cannot
be collected.
Expected findings and result dissemination. The results for this study will be submitted to the
college of medicine department of Department of Health Systems & Policy for grading to attain
a master’s of science in global health implementation; additionally it will be submitted to college
of medicine ethics committee (COMREC) and a copy to the college of medicine library
including the center for reproductive health.
Description
Keywords
Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES