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Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda

BACKGROUND: In Uganda, unintended pregnancies are responsible for one in three births with detrimental consequences, a situation that worsened during COVID-19. Thus, the present examined unplanned pregnancy and its associated risks in Oyam district, northern Uganda during the COVID-19 epidemic. METH...

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Autores principales: Okalo, Ponsiano, Arach, Anna Agnes, Apili, Brenda, Oyat, Jimmy, Halima, Namata, Kabunga, Amir
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9910206/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36776919
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAJC.S399973
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author Okalo, Ponsiano
Arach, Anna Agnes
Apili, Brenda
Oyat, Jimmy
Halima, Namata
Kabunga, Amir
author_facet Okalo, Ponsiano
Arach, Anna Agnes
Apili, Brenda
Oyat, Jimmy
Halima, Namata
Kabunga, Amir
author_sort Okalo, Ponsiano
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: In Uganda, unintended pregnancies are responsible for one in three births with detrimental consequences, a situation that worsened during COVID-19. Thus, the present examined unplanned pregnancy and its associated risks in Oyam district, northern Uganda during the COVID-19 epidemic. METHODS AND METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional study among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years who had a pregnancy during the second phase of COVID-19 in Oyam district, northern Uganda in November 2022. A consecutive method was employed to recruit the participants attending health facilities. A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data. For data analysis, both bivariate and multivariable regression methods with adjusted odds ratio and 95% CI were used. A p-value of 0.05 was used to determine the significance level. RESULTS: Of the total respondents, 292 (69.5%) were aged between 18 and 19 years of age, 295 (70.2%) lived in rural areas, and 222 (52.9%) had no formal education. The results also show that 293 (69.8%) of the respondents had unintended pregnancies during COVID-19. The results indicate that participants who lacked knowledge of the ovulation period (AOR: 0.242; 95% CI: 0156–0376; P<0.001), sex education during COVID-19 (AOR: 0.563; 95% CI:: 0.365–0.869; P=0.024) and lacked the freedom to discuss family planning-related issues with family members during COVID-19 (AOR: 0.228; 95% CI: 0.138–0.376; P<0.001) were more likely to have an unintended pregnancy compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that unwanted pregnancies among adolescent girls remain a public health issue in Oyam district with more than two-thirds of adolescents having unwanted pregnancies during the crisis of COVID-19. The major correlates of unwanted pregnancies among adolescent girls during COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate knowledge of the ovulation period, sex education, and lack of freedom to discuss family planning-related issues with family members. There is a need to prioritize interventions, especially in rural settings. Sex education to improve contraceptive use and delay sexual debut. In light of the possibility that social and cultural norms in the Oyam district prohibit parents and children from discussing sexual subjects, it is crucial to promote sexual health education through the mass media, including newspapers, television, radio, and social media.
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spelling pubmed-99102062023-02-10 Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda Okalo, Ponsiano Arach, Anna Agnes Apili, Brenda Oyat, Jimmy Halima, Namata Kabunga, Amir Open Access J Contracept Original Research BACKGROUND: In Uganda, unintended pregnancies are responsible for one in three births with detrimental consequences, a situation that worsened during COVID-19. Thus, the present examined unplanned pregnancy and its associated risks in Oyam district, northern Uganda during the COVID-19 epidemic. METHODS AND METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional study among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years who had a pregnancy during the second phase of COVID-19 in Oyam district, northern Uganda in November 2022. A consecutive method was employed to recruit the participants attending health facilities. A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data. For data analysis, both bivariate and multivariable regression methods with adjusted odds ratio and 95% CI were used. A p-value of 0.05 was used to determine the significance level. RESULTS: Of the total respondents, 292 (69.5%) were aged between 18 and 19 years of age, 295 (70.2%) lived in rural areas, and 222 (52.9%) had no formal education. The results also show that 293 (69.8%) of the respondents had unintended pregnancies during COVID-19. The results indicate that participants who lacked knowledge of the ovulation period (AOR: 0.242; 95% CI: 0156–0376; P<0.001), sex education during COVID-19 (AOR: 0.563; 95% CI:: 0.365–0.869; P=0.024) and lacked the freedom to discuss family planning-related issues with family members during COVID-19 (AOR: 0.228; 95% CI: 0.138–0.376; P<0.001) were more likely to have an unintended pregnancy compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that unwanted pregnancies among adolescent girls remain a public health issue in Oyam district with more than two-thirds of adolescents having unwanted pregnancies during the crisis of COVID-19. The major correlates of unwanted pregnancies among adolescent girls during COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate knowledge of the ovulation period, sex education, and lack of freedom to discuss family planning-related issues with family members. There is a need to prioritize interventions, especially in rural settings. Sex education to improve contraceptive use and delay sexual debut. In light of the possibility that social and cultural norms in the Oyam district prohibit parents and children from discussing sexual subjects, it is crucial to promote sexual health education through the mass media, including newspapers, television, radio, and social media. Dove 2023-02-05 /pmc/articles/PMC9910206/ /pubmed/36776919 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAJC.S399973 Text en © 2023 Okalo et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) ). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).
spellingShingle Original Research
Okalo, Ponsiano
Arach, Anna Agnes
Apili, Brenda
Oyat, Jimmy
Halima, Namata
Kabunga, Amir
Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda
title Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda
title_full Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda
title_fullStr Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda
title_short Predictors of Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Oyam District in Northern Uganda
title_sort predictors of unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls during the second wave of covid-19 pandemic in oyam district in northern uganda
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9910206/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36776919
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAJC.S399973
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