scholarly journals Formative Study of Mobile Phone Use for Family Planning Among Young People in Sierra Leone: Global Systematic Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emeka Chukwu ◽  
Sonia Gilroy ◽  
Kojo Addaquay ◽  
Nki Nafisa Jones ◽  
Victor Gbadia Karimu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Young People ◽  
New Media ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Teenage Pregnancy ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Interactive Voice Response ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Systematic Search

BACKGROUND Teenage pregnancy remains high with low contraceptive prevalence among adolescents (aged 15-19 years) in Sierra Leone. Stakeholders leverage multiple strategies to address the challenge. Mobile technology is pervasive and presents an opportunity to reach young people with critical sexual reproductive health and family planning messages. OBJECTIVE The objectives of this research study are to understand how mobile health (mHealth) is used for family planning, understand phone use habits among young people in Sierra Leone, and recommend strategies for mobile-enabled dissemination of family planning information at scale. METHODS This formative research study was conducted using a systematic literature review and focus group discussions (FGDs). The literature survey assessed similar but existing interventions through a systematic search of 6 scholarly databases. Cross-sections of young people of both sexes and their support groups were engaged in 9 FGDs in an urban and a rural district in Sierra Leone. The FGD data were qualitatively analyzed using MAXQDA software (VERBI Software GmbH) to determine appropriate technology channels, content, and format for different user segments. RESULTS Our systematic search results were categorized using Grading of Recommended Assessment and Evaluation (GRADE) into communication channels, audiovisual messaging format, purpose of the intervention, and message direction. The majority of reviewed articles report on SMS-based interventions. At the same time, most intervention purposes are for awareness and as helpful resources. Our survey did not find documented use of custom mHealth apps for family planning information dissemination. From the FGDs, more young people in Sierra Leone own basic mobile phones than those that have feature capablilities or are smartphone. Young people with smartphones use them mostly for WhatsApp and Facebook. Young people widely subscribe to the social media–only internet bundle, with the cost ranging from 1000 leones (US $0.11) to 1500 leones (US $0.16) daily. Pupils in both districts top-up their voice call and SMS credit every day between 1000 leones (US $0.11) and 5000 leones (US $0.52). CONCLUSIONS mHealth has facilitated family planning information dissemination for demand creation around the world. Despite the widespread use of social and new media, SMS is the scalable channel to reach literate and semiliterate young people. We have cataloged mHealth for contraceptive research to show SMS followed by call center as widely used channels. Jingles are popular for audiovisual message formats, mostly delivered as either push or pull only message directions (not both). Interactive voice response and automated calls are best suited to reach nonliterate young people at scale.

scholarly journals Literacy of Croatian vocational school students in school assignments and texts written in new media in leisure time

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaženka Filipan-Žignić ◽  
Vladimir Legac ◽  
Katica Sobo
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
New Media ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Vocational School ◽  
Grammar School ◽  
School Students ◽  
New Type ◽  
New Research

Communication by means of new media inevitably leads to changes in language that are reflected in a new type of discourse. The main features of this discourse are the use of abbreviations, emoticons, dialecticism, anglicisms, neologisms, vulgarisms, and profanities. This way of writing, however, is often seen as writing with a lot of errors, which then have a negative influence on literacy in general and, particularly, on the literacy of young people. Therefore, during 2016, the authors of this article conducted a research study of the real literacy of young people analyzing school assignments written by students in their final years of vocational schools and their communication in new media. The 2016 research study was a follow-up study to the research study that had been carried out in 2015 with grammar school students. This new research study compared vocational school students with grammar school students in Croatia.

scholarly journals Formative study of mobile phone usage for family planning amongst young people in Sierra Leone: A global systematic survey (Preprint)

10.2196/23874 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emeka Chukwu ◽  
Sonia Gilroy ◽  
Abiodun Oyeyipo ◽  
Kojo Addaquay ◽  
Nki Nafisa Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Systematic Survey ◽  
Mobile Phone Usage

PRACTICE AND MORE PRACTICE: ITS CENTRALITY TO YOUNG PEOPLE COPING WITH THE COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES OF THE WORKPLACE

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Shairn Hollis-Turner
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Workplace Communication ◽  
Expert Performance ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Communication Demands ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

Both oral and written communication is influential and prevalent in modern societies. This research study focused on interpersonal communication practices in a business context. The aim was to determine whether youths between 18 and 23 years of age undertaking their six-month period of internship as novice employees were adequately prepared to meet the demands of the workplace. Data were collected from the employers at organisations that employed novice employees. This provided critical perspectives on the competency of young people to cope with the communication demands of the workplace. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used. Sixty eight (68) employers completed the questionnaires. Interviews were also conducted with six randomly selected employers at the organisations where the young people were undertaking their respective internships. The findings show that workplace communication is complex and that many young people struggle to meet the challenges of communicating adequately in the workplace. Deliberate practice is fundamental to the development of communication skills and expert performance in the workplace. Recommendations are made to better prepare young people to face the challenges and demands of the dynamic workplace.

scholarly journals Mental health and wellbeing implications of the COVID-19 quarantine for disabled and disadvantaged children and young people: evidence from a cross-cultural study in Zambia and Sierra Leone

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Sharpe ◽  
Mohsen Rajabi ◽  
Clement Chileshe ◽  
Sitali Mayamba Joseph ◽  
Ibrahim Sesay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Planning Tool ◽  
Income Loss ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Children And Young People

Abstract Background The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantining on children and young people (CYP) living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has yet to be fully comprehended. CYP in LMICs are at utmost risk, given the COVID-19-related restrictions and social distancing measures, resulting in reduced access to school-based services for nutritional and mental health needs. This study examined mental health of CYP during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Zambia and Sierra Leone. Method A total of 468 disabled and disadvantaged CYP aged 12 to 25 completed a planning tool that comprised the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS), as well as open-ended questions covering social connectedness, physical distancing and educational challenges during the lockdown. The community coaches screened individuals and families who could be eligible to receive emergency aid, and based on a convenience sample following distribution of aid, recipients were invited to complete the planning tool. Results The data showed that participants in the global south have increasing anxieties and fears centred on accessing offline educational resources and income loss in the family effecting food security and their ability to return to education. Mean (SD) SWEMWBS scores for all participants in Zambia and Sierra Leone, were 19.61 (3.45) and 21.65 (2.84), respectively. Mental well-being scores were lower in females, children aged 12–14 and participants with two or more disabilities. Factors significantly associated with poor mental wellbeing in the sample were: type of disability, nationality, peer relationships, connection to others during the pandemic, knowledge about COVID-19, worry about the long-term impact of COVID-19, and the types of self-isolating. Conclusion The study shows that participants who self-reported low levels of COVID-19 health literacy also scored low on the mental wellbeing self-assessment. Yet, despite undoubted limited resources, these CYP are doing well in identifying their needs and maintaining hope in the face of the problems associated with COVID-19 in countries where stigma persists around mental ill-health.

scholarly journals Confidentiality in Family Planning Services for Young People

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. S85-S92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna W. Brittain ◽  
Jessica R. Williams ◽  
Lauren B. Zapata ◽  
Susan B. Moskosky ◽  
Tasmeen S. Weik
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Young People ◽  
Family Planning Services

Critique and the video production classroom: providing students the skills to navigate new media literacies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie Nixon
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
New Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Video Production ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Media Literacy ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate how teaching the discourse of critique, an integral part of the video production process, can be used to eliminate barriers for young people in gaining new media literacy skills helping more young people become producers rather than consumers of digital media. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes an instrumental qualitative case study (Stake, 2000) in two elective high school video production classrooms in the Midwestern region of the USA. The author conducted observations, video and audio recorded critique sessions, conducted semi-structured interviews and collected artifacts throughout production including storyboards, brainstorms and rough and final cuts of videos. Findings Throughout critique, young video producers used argumentation strategies to cocreate meaning, multiple methods of inquiry and questioning, critically evaluated feedback and synthesized their ideas and those of their peers to achieve their intended artistic vision. Young video producers used feedback in the following ways: incorporated feedback directly into their work, rejected and ignored feedback, or incorporated some element of the feedback in a way not originally intended. Originality/value This paper demonstrates how teaching the discourse of critique can be used to eliminate barriers for young people in gaining new media literacy skills. Educators can teach argumentation and inquiry strategies through using thinking guides that encourage active processing and through engaging near peer mentors. Classroom educators can integrate the arts-based practice of the pitch critique session to maximize the impact of peer-to-peer learning.

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