MBARARA: Scientists in Uganda have revealed the risk factors behind the spate of unintended pregnancies in young Ugandan girls.
In the 2023 study titled: Incidence of unintended pregnancy and associated factors among adolescent girls and young women at risk of HIV infection in Kampala, Uganda, the researchers found that the incidence of unintended pregnancy among the study participants was 26.9%.
“The risk factors associated with unintended pregnancy were being aged 20-24 years, having multiple sexual partners, having a low level of education, and inconsistent use of contraceptives,” they wrote in the study which has been published in the prestigious journal: Frontiers in Reproductive Health. It can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2023.1089104
The study further also found that the main barriers to accessing contraceptive services were fear of side effects, lack of knowledge about contraceptives, and stigma.
The researchers were Mary Namukisa, Onesmus Kamacooko, Jane Frances Lunkuse, Eugene Ruzagira, Matt A. Price, and Yunia Mayanja.
They were drawn from the Department of Global Health Collaborative, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda, the Department of Data and Statistics, Medical Research Council/ Uganda Virus Research Institute, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MRC/UVRI & LSHTM) Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda, Department of HIV Epidemiology and Intervention, Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MRC/UVRI & LSHTM) Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda, the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom, the Department of Epidemiology, IAVI, New York, NY, United States and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
The principal investigator, Mary Namukisa presented her findings at a recent research translation symposium at MUST.
The Study:
The study investigated the incidence of unintended pregnancy and associated factors among adolescent girls and young women at risk of HIV infection in Kampala, Uganda. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of unintended pregnancy among this population, identify the risk factors associated with unintended pregnancy, and explore the barriers to accessing contraceptive services.
Taking a longitudinal design, the researchers followed 565 adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 years who were at risk of HIV infection over a period of 12 months.
The participants were recruited from six health facilities in Kampala, Uganda. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings:
The study found that the incidence of unintended pregnancy among the study participants was 26.9%. The risk factors associated with unintended pregnancy were being aged 20-24 years, having multiple sexual partners, having a low level of education, and inconsistent use of contraceptives. The study also found that the main barriers to accessing contraceptive services were fear of side effects, lack of knowledge about contraceptives, and stigma.
““We included 285 volunteers with a mean age of 19.9 [standard deviation (SD), ± 2.24] years; 54.7% had attained secondary school education or higher, 57.2% were single (never married), 92.6% reported engaging in transactional sex, 21.0% reported sex work as their main job, 51.9% consumed alcohol in the month prior to the interview, of whom 12.8% consumed alcohol daily, and 25.3% had Chlamydia trachomatis/Neisseria gonorrhoeae,” the results say in part.
Interestingly, the study found that alcohol consumption in the past month of the study was associated with a lower risk of incident pregnancies.
Policy Implications:
The study has important implications for reproductive health programs in Uganda and other similar settings. The findings suggest that efforts should be made to increase access to contraceptive services and education on family planning. Additionally, interventions should be designed to address the social and cultural factors that contribute to unintended pregnancies among adolescent girls and young women.
These findings suggest the need for interventions that promote contraceptive use and reduce the number of sexual partners among young people in Uganda.
Background
In sub-Saharan Africa, one in every five young women becomes pregnant, and 50% of these are unintended.
In Uganda, Results from the Phase 2 cross-sectional survey of the Performance Monitoring for Action -PMA Uganda project at Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) show that 46 percent of pregnancies in 2021 were unintended.
Is a longtime journalist in Uganda who has served as a cab reporter, Bureau Chief, Managing Editor, and Digital Media Editor at the country's prominent publications such as Daily Monitor, Red Pepper, and now, Research Finds News since 1999.
Rugyendo is currently a Ph.D. Fellow in Journalism and Communication at Makerere University, a Desmond Tutu Fellow, Crans Montana New Leader, and Chairman of Young Engineers Uganda and Uganda Premier League.
