Association Between Sexual Violence and Unintended Pregnancy Among Young Girls in South Africa

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34833/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Henrietta Chinelo Ezegbe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Young Girls ◽

Unintended Pregnancies ◽

Final Sample

Abstract Background: Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of young girls (aged 15–24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among young girls in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rates.Methods: Drawing from cross-sectional data obtained among young girls in a South African university between June and November 2018, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among young girls and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17–24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy.Results: The analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 25.9% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (57.0%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (36.8%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.76; 95% CI: 1.07–2.90).Conclusion: Addressing unintended pregnancies among young girls in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services, but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

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Association between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09488-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Henrietta Chinelo Ezegbe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Young Women ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unintended Pregnancies

Abstract Background Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15–24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rate. Thus, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. Methods Our study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were obtained from AGYW in a South African university between June and November 2018. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17–24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. Results The analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 26.3% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.70; 95% CI: 1.08–2.68). Conclusion Our study found a huge magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW. Sexual violence is an important predictor of unintended pregnancy in this age cohort. Thus, addressing unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

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Association between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34833/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Henrietta Chinelo Ezegbe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Young Women ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unintended Pregnancies

Abstract Background Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socio-economic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15-24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rates. MethodsDrawing from cross-sectional data obtained among AGYW in a South African university between June and November 2018, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17-24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. ResultsThe analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 25.9% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.70; 95% CI: 1.08-2.68).ConclusionAddressing unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

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Association between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34833/v5 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Henrietta Chinelo Ezegbe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Young Women ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unintended Pregnancies

Abstract Background Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15-24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rates. Thus, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. Methods Our study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were obtained from AGYW in a South African university between June and November 2018. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17-24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. Results The analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 25.9% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.70; 95% CI: 1.08-2.68). Conclusion Our study found a huge magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW. Sexual violence is an important predictor of unintended pregnancy in this age cohort. Thus, addressing unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

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Association between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34833/v4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Henrietta Chinelo Ezegbe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Young Women ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unintended Pregnancies

Abstract Background Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15-24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rates. Thus, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy.Methods Our study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were obtained from AGYW in a South African university between June and November 2018. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17-24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. Results The analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 26.3% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.70; 95% CI: 1.08-2.68).Conclusion Our study found a huge magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW. Sexual violence is an important predictor of unintended pregnancy in this age cohort. Thus, addressing unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

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Association between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34833/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Henrietta Chinelo Ezegbe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Young Women ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unintended Pregnancies

Abstract Background Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15-24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rates. Thus, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy.MethodsOur study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were obtained from AGYW in a South African university between June and November 2018. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17-24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy. ResultsThe analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 25.9% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.70; 95% CI: 1.08-2.68).ConclusionOur study found a huge magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW. Sexual violence is an important predictor of unintended pregnancy in this age cohort. Thus, addressing unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

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Nursing Students’ Knowledge, Attitude and Use regarding an Implanted Contraceptive Method

Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ◽

10.25159/2520-5293/4439 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Winifred Chinyere Ukoha ◽

Nomaxabiso M. Mooi

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Contraceptive Method ◽

Unplanned Pregnancy ◽

African Countries ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Undergraduate Nursing Students ◽

Undergraduate Nursing ◽

Unintended Pregnancies

Despite the prioritisation of contraceptives in the sustainable development goals for 2030 and their increasing availability, unplanned pregnancy remains a universal problem, representing up to 40 per cent of all reported pregnancies. Many sub-Saharan African countries, including South Africa, have resorted to the use of implanted contraceptives, such as Implanon, to decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies. Therefore, this study sought to assess the knowledge, attitude and use regarding the Implanon contraceptive method among undergraduate nursing students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 undergraduate nursing students who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected through questionnaires and analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24. The results revealed that 37 (61.7%) of the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 19 years and none were married or divorced. Fifty-five (91.7%) of them had no children, while 5 (8.3%) had experienced an unintended pregnancy before. Twenty-five (41.7%) of the respondents were not aware of the availability of Implanon, while 35 (58.3%) of them had unfavourable attitudes to the contraceptive method. The results also revealed a significant relationship between certain socio-demographic variables, especially between age and the experience of an unintended pregnancy (p = 0.006). Based on these findings, efforts should be made to promote contraceptive education and counselling. Further research, preferably qualitative research, is needed to explore the reasons for the unfavourable attitude to the implanted contraceptive method.

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"I was tricked": understanding reasons for unintended pregnancy among sexually active adolescent girls

Reproductive Health ◽

10.1186/s12978-021-01078-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Idowu Ajayi ◽

Sally Atieno Odunga ◽

Clement Oduor ◽

Ramatou Ouedraogo ◽

Boniface Ayanbekongshie Ushie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Formal Education ◽

School Attendance ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Sexually Active ◽

Unintended Pregnancies ◽

Study Setting

Abstract Background While the Kenya government is mobilizing high-level strategies to end adolescent pregnancy by 2030, a clear understanding of drivers of early unintended pregnancy in the country is a necessary precursor. In this study, we determine the prevalence, associated factors, and reasons for unintended pregnancy among sexually active adolescent girls (aged 15–19 in two Kenya counties with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy. Methods We used the “In Their Hands” (ITH) program's baseline evaluation data. The study adopted a mixed-methods design with 1110 sexually active adolescent girls in the quantitative component and 19 girls who were either pregnant or nursing a child in the qualitative. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression to model factors associated with unintended pregnancy among respondents. We used a thematic analysis of qualitative data to examine girls’ reasons for having unintended pregnancy. Results Overall, 42% of respondents have had an unintended pregnancy; however, higher proportions were observed among girls who were 19 years (49.4%), double orphans (53.6%), never used contraceptive (49.9%), out-of-school (53.8%), and married (55.6%). After adjusting for relevant covariates, the odds of unintended pregnancy were higher among girls who resided in rural areas (AOR 1.64, 95% CI 1.22–2.20), had primary or no formal education (AOR 1.50 95% CI 1.11–2.02), and had never used contraceptive (AOR 1.69 95% CI 1.25–2.29) compared with their counterparts. Current school attendance was associated with a 66% reduction in the probability of having an unintended pregnancy. Participants of the qualitative study stated that the desire to maintain a relationship, poor contraceptive knowledge, misinformation about contraceptive side effects, and lack of trusted mentors were the main reasons for their unintended pregnancies. Conclusion A massive burden of unintended pregnancy exists among sexually active adolescent girls in the study setting. Adolescent boys and girls need better access to sexuality education and contraceptives in the study setting to reduce early unintended pregnancy.

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