| dc.description.abstract | Introduction and Background: Globally, teenage pregnancy is a serious public problem, further exacerbated by the emergence of COVID-19 which saw cases rising up to approximately 23% among aged 15-19 and by 36.6% among girls aged 10-15 years. This research examined the drivers of teenage pregnancy among girls aged 13 to 19 in Lakwana sub-county, Omoro district. Research objectives were; to explore knowledge, attitudes and practices in regard to teenage pregnancy as well as to examine the prevalence of teenage pregnancy.
Methods: The research employed qualitative approach and used a cross- sectional study design, using both primary and secondary data sources. A total of 30 participates were enrolled in the study including primary respondent such as pregnant girls and secondary respondents such as parents, teachers, community development officers, social workers and health workers and data was collected using In-depth interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Key informant interviews and Document research.
Findings: The study indicate knowledge-gap drivers of teenage pregnancy among girls aged 13-19 during Covid-19 lockdown in Lakwana Sub- County include a high level of ignorance about birth control options, absence of sensitization, superstitious and cultural beliefs, high level of misconception about pregnancy and a total lack of sex education in schools. The prevailing attitudinal drivers of teenage pregnancy include negative attitude of adolescent girls birth control options, negative attitude of some guardians/parents to carry out sex and pregnancy discussion with the adolescent girls, negative attitude of some parents toward girl child education and lack of access to reproductive health information and discussion provided at different health facilities Existing social divers include internal pressure from parents/guardians, external pressure from relatives, peer influence and sexual abuse by older men and some teachers.
Conclusion and Recommendation: This study recommends the following to address knowledge-gap drivers such as the government should promote contraceptive use, local leaders should link adolescents to friendly sexual and reproductive health services, policy makers should encourage continuous sex education at schools and community and health workers should keep privacy of the adolescent girls who seek help from them. The study put forward the recommendations to address the attitudinal drivers of teenage pregnancy such as the xi government should strengthen the implementation of the existing National Health Policy, local leaders should encourage radio talk shows around teenage pregnancy, community sensitization be encouraged by the local leaders and life orientation and career guardian and counseling be promoted by the parents. Finally, this study recommend the following to address social drivers of teenage pregnancy such as the government should provide a stable funding to facilitate a comprehensive research and support youth friendly services, the policy makers should formulate policies that promote a compulsory reproductive health discussion in schools, community and hospitals, the parents should encourage child-parent communication concerning sexuality and pregnancy and lastly, the researchers should conduct more research on pregnancy among girls aged 20 and above | en_US |
