scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on adolescent pregnancy and school dropout among secondary schoolgirls in Kenya

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e007666
Author(s):  
Garazi Zulaika ◽  
Miriam Bulbarelli ◽  
Elizabeth Nyothach ◽  
Annemieke van Eijk ◽  
Linda Mason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Adolescent Pregnancy ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Population Level ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Adjusted Risk ◽  
School Transfer ◽  
Schooling Outcomes

IntroductionSecondary school closures aimed at limiting the number of infections and deaths due to COVID-19 may have amplified the negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and schooling outcomes of vulnerable adolescent girls. This study aimed to measure pandemic-related effects on adolescent pregnancy and school dropout among school-going girls in Kenya.MethodsWe report longitudinal findings of 910 girls in their last 2 years of secondary school. The study took place in 12 secondary day schools in rural western Kenya between 2018 and 2021. Using a causal-comparative design, we compared SRH and schooling outcomes among 403 girls who graduated after completion of their final school examinations in November 2019 pre-pandemic with 507 girls who experienced disrupted schooling due to COVID-19 and sat examinations in March 2021. Unadjusted and adjusted generalised linear mixed models were used to investigate the effect of COVID-19-related school closures and restrictions on all outcomes of interest and on incident pregnancy.ResultsAt study initiation, the mean age of participants was 17.2 (IQR: 16.4–17.9) for girls in the pre-COVID-19 cohort and 17.5 (IQR: 16.5–18.4) for girls in the COVID-19 cohort. Girls experiencing COVID-19 containment measures had twice the risk of falling pregnant prior to completing secondary school after adjustment for age, household wealth and orphanhood status (adjusted risk ratio (aRR)=2.11; 95% CI:1.13 to 3.95, p=0.019); three times the risk of school dropout (aRR=3.03; 95% CI: 1.55 to 5.95, p=0.001) and 3.4 times the risk of school transfer prior to examinations (aRR=3.39; 95% CI: 1.70 to 6.77, p=0.001) relative to pre-COVID-19 learners. Girls in the COVID-19 cohort were more likely to be sexually active (aRR=1.28; 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.51, p=0.002) and less likely to report their first sex as desired (aRR=0.49; 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.65, p<0.001). These girls reported increased hours of non-school-related work (3.32 hours per day vs 2.63 hours per day in the pre-COVID-19 cohort, aRR=1.92; 95% CI: 1.92 to 2.99, p=0.004). In the COVID-19 cohort, 80.5% reported worsening household economic status and COVID-19-related stress was common.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic deleteriously affected the SRH of girls and amplified school transfer and dropout. Appropriate programmes and interventions that help buffer the effects of population-level emergencies on school-going adolescents are warranted.Trial registration numberNCT03051789.

scholarly journals Pregnancy and marriage among teenage schoolgirls in rural western Kenya; a secondary analysis of a menstrual solution feasibility COHORT study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3277
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Nyothach ◽  
Eleanor Ambrose ◽  
Anna M. Van Eijk ◽  
David Obor ◽  
Linda Mason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Pregnancy ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Early Marriage ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Pregnancy Risk ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Adjusted Risk

Background: Adolescent pregnancy increases the risk of adverse health outcomes, social stigma, loss of education and employment, and early marriage. Research characterising at risk girls will inform targeting of effective interventions.Methods: Risk characteristics for adolescent pregnancy were evaluated in schoolgirls aged 14-16 years as a secondary analysis in a longitudinal study evaluating menstrual products in 30 primary schools in rural western Kenya. Characteristics of participants were collected at baseline and follow-up.  Descriptive and multivariate analysis were conducted.Results: Of 766 girls enrolled into the study, aged 14-16 years and followed over a school year, 53 (7%) were or became pregnant, with three (6%) neonatal deaths reported. Girls with the lowest compared with the highest socio-economic status had 2.5-fold higher risk of pregnancy (13.1% vs 5.0%: adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 2.48, confidence limits 1.32-4.64). Girls reporting early menarche (<13 years) had a 2.5-fold higher risk of pregnancy (aRR 2.61, 1.38-4.92), while those happy in school had a reduced risk (aRR 0.60, 0.34-1.04). Age, presence of parents, and being harassed by boys or men were not associated with pregnancy risk. Twenty-two girls (2.9%) married by the study end.  Marriage was significantly associated with pregnancy (aRR 13.44, 5.50-32.83) and a history of sex at baseline (3.15, 1.55-6.38). All but two girls dropped out of school when pregnant with only five girls returning after delivery.Conclusions:Pregnancy leading to school dropout and child marriage remains an urgent public health concern among teenage girls in rural Kenya. Interventions are needed to enable schoolgirls to reach their educational potential. 

The utility of non-formal education in addressing the school dropout phenomenon : a case study of Asifundeni Secondary School in Makonde District Zimbabwe

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-69
Author(s):  
Francis Muchenje ◽  
◽  
Pedzisai Goronga
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
School Level ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Secondary School Level

The study sought to explore students' views on the utility of non-formal education in addressing the school dropout phenomenon at secondary school level. Qualitative research approach was adopted and a case study design was utilised. The population consisted of all the students in the non-formal programme at the school from which a sample of 11 students (2 male and 9 female) was selected through purposive stratified sampling technique. Data were gathered through structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Non-formal education was seen to address the school dropout phenomenon by providing school drop outs with an opportunity to continue their education and hence becomes a form of empowerment. A number of challenges such as lack of adequate tuition in some subjects, lack of conducive learning environment as well as negative perception of non-formal education held by pupils in the formal stream and community members were identified. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should review the staffing situation in schools to ensure the availability of teachers in the various subjects in the non-formal stream. Schools should make an effort to provide appropriate learning facilities for students in the nonformal stream. Furthermore, schools should conscientise their communities on the importance of non-formal education.

scholarly journals Levelling up: Global examples of reducing health inequalities

2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110224
Author(s):  
Clare Bambra
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
State Expansion ◽  
Care Access ◽  
The Social ◽  
The 1950S

There are significant inequalities in health by socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, gender, neighbourhood deprivation and other axes of social inequality. Reducing these health inequalities and improving health equity is arguably the ‘holy grail’ of public health. This article engages with this quest by presenting and analysing historical examples of when sizeable population-level reductions in health inequalities have been achieved. Five global examples are presented ranging from the 1950s to the 2000s: the Nordic social democratic welfare states from the 1950s to the 1970s; the Civil Rights Acts and War on Poverty in 1960s USA; democratisation in Brazil in the 1980s; German reunification in the 1990s; and the English health inequalities strategy in the 2000s. Welfare state expansion, improved health care access, and enhanced political incorporation are identified as three commonly held ‘levellers’ whereby health inequalities can be reduced – at scale. The article concludes by arguing that ‘levelling up’ population health through reducing health inequalities requires the long-term enactment of macro-level policies that aggressively target the social determinants of health.

Children's Attitudes to Secondary School Transfer

1981 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Jennings ◽  
David J. Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
School Transfer ◽  
Children's Attitudes

scholarly journals Wealth Inequality as a Predictor of Subjective Health, Happiness and Life Satisfaction among Nepalese Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifei He ◽  
Zhaohui Cheng ◽  
Ghose Bishwajit ◽  
Dongsheng Zou
Keyword(s):  
Economic Status ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
The Body ◽  
Status Report ◽  
Wealth Status ◽  
Cross Sectional

Socioeconomic status has shown to be associated with subjective health, well-being, satisfaction with overall life and estimation of happiness. The body of research concerning the question of whether higher economic status leads to better health and well-being are mostly from developed countries. The present study was therefore conducted among women in Nepal with an aim to investigate whether household wealth status is associated with satisfaction about (1) self-reported health, (2) happiness, and (3) life overall. Methods: Subjects were 5226 Nepalese women aged between 15 and 24 years. Cross-sectional data were extracted from round 5 of the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (NMICS), conducted in 2014, and analyzed using chi-square tests of association, bivariate and multivariable regression methods. Results: Wealth status was significantly associated with satisfaction about health, estimation of happiness and satisfaction. Compared with women in the poorest households, the odds of positive estimation about overall happiness were respectively 30% higher for poorer (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.653–3.190), 80% higher for middle (p = 0.001; 95% CI = 1.294–2.522), 64% higher for richer (p = 0.006; 95% CI = 1.155–2.326), and 40% higher for richest households. The odds of reporting satisfaction about life were respectively 97% higher for poorer (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.680–2.317), 41% higher for middle (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.165–1.715), 62% higher for richer (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.313–2.003), and 31% higher for richest households (p = 0.043; 95% CI = 1.008–1.700). Conclusion: Our results conclude that women in households with lower wealth status report poorer subjective health, quality of life and happiness. However, the findings need to be interpreted in light of the existing sociocultural conditions mediating the role of household wealth status on women’s lives.

scholarly journals Mood Disorder Detection in Adolescents by Classification Trees, Random Forests and XGBoost in Presence of Missing Data

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1210
Author(s):  
Elzbieta Turska ◽  
Szymon Jurga ◽  
Jaroslaw Piskorski
Keyword(s):  
Missing Data ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Mood Disorder ◽  
Random Forests ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Related Result ◽  
Classification Trees ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
School Students ◽  
Surrogate Variables

We apply tree-based classification algorithms, namely the classification trees, with the use of the rpart algorithm, random forests and XGBoost methods to detect mood disorder in a group of 2508 lower secondary school students. The dataset presents many challenges, the most important of which is many missing data as well as the being heavily unbalanced (there are few severe mood disorder cases). We find that all algorithms are specific, but only the rpart algorithm is sensitive; i.e., it is able to detect cases of real cases mood disorder. The conclusion of this paper is that this is caused by the fact that the rpart algorithm uses the surrogate variables to handle missing data. The most important social-studies-related result is that the adolescents’ relationships with their parents are the single most important factor in developing mood disorders—far more important than other factors, such as the socio-economic status or school success.

scholarly journals Time Spent on School-Related Activities at Home During the Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis of Social Group Inequality Among Secondary School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Zinn ◽  
Michael Bayer
Keyword(s):  
Educational Inequality ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Educational Inequalities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Theoretical Assumption ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Parental Educational Attainment ◽  
Group Inequality ◽  
At Home

Substantial educational inequalities have been documented in Germany for decades. In this article, we examine whether educational inequalities among children have increased or remained the same since the school closures of spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our perspective is longitudinal: We compare the amount of time children in secondary schools spent on school-related activities at home before the pandemic, during school closures, and immediately after returning to in-person learning. We operationalize family socio-economic status using the highest parental educational attainment. Based on the theoretical assumption that the pandemic affected everyone equally, we formulate a hypothesis of equalization during the first period of school closures. For the period thereafter, however, we assume that parents with a low level of education had more difficulties bearing the additional burden of supervising and supporting their children’s learning activities. Thus, for that period, we postulate an increase in educational inequality. To study our hypotheses, we use data from the 2019 wave of the SOEP and the SOEP-CoV study, both of which are probability samples. The SOEP-CoV study provides a unique database, as it was conducted during the lockdown of spring 2020 and in the following month. For statistical analysis, we use probit regressions at three measurement points (in 2019, in 2020 during the school closures, and in the month after closures). The comparison of these three time points makes our analysis and findings unique in the research on education during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular with regard to Germany-wide comparisons. Our results confirm the hypothesis of equalization during the first school closures and the hypothesis of an increase in educational in the subsequent period. Our findings have direct policy implications regarding the need to further expand support systems for children.

scholarly journals Linking gut microbiota, metabolic syndrome and economic status based on a population-level analysis

Microbiome ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan He ◽  
Wei Wu ◽  
Shan Wu ◽  
Hui-Min Zheng ◽  
Pan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Level Analysis

‘I Failed to Work Hard’: Reasons for Secondary School Dropout among Muslim Men in Delhi

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
Aashti Salman
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
School Experiences ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
School Level ◽  
Committee Report ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Secondary School Level ◽  
Muslim Men

This article aims to understand the reasons and experiences which contribute to dropout among Muslims in India at the secondary school level (grades IX–XII). The focus of this article is low-income Muslim men, who have left school at the secondary level, in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Jamia Nagar, Delhi. The context of this article is set by the seminal Sachar Committee Report which highlights the educational disadvantages of Muslims, categorising their school dropout rates as ‘worrisome’. The findings of this article are partially consistent with previous research. In the final instance, the Muslim men in Jamia Nagar linked their school leaving to their personal failure: in terms of their inability to maintain interest in studies/failing to clear a grade. There was a strong value attached to hard work, which men felt they lacked, and this was cited as the reason for their personal failure in school. In the process of constructing this narrative, family experiences were downplayed. School experiences were singled out by men as not affecting their decision to drop out. Another striking finding of this study is the relationship between self-employment and the decision to drop out.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document