School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus, Tehran, Iran.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus, Tehran, Iran.
Reprod Health. 2018 Jan 27;15(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s12978-018-0460-4.
Adolescent pregnancy has been persistently high in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this review is to identify factors influencing adolescent pregnancies in sub-Saharan Africa in order to design appropriate intervention program.
A search in MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of science, and Google Scholar databases with the following keywords: determinants, factors, reasons, sociocultural factors, adolescent pregnancy, unintended pregnancies, and sub- Saharan Africa. Qualitative and cross-sectional studies intended to assess factors influencing adolescent pregnancies as the primary outcome variable in sub- Saharan Africa were included. Our search was limited to, articles published from the year 2000 to 2017 in English. Twenty-four (24) original articles met the inclusion criteria.
The study identified Sociocultural, environmental and Economic factors (Peer influence, unwanted sexual advances from adult males, coercive sexual relations, unequal gender power relations, poverty, religion, early marriage, lack of parental counseling and guidance, parental neglect, absence of affordable or free education, lack of comprehensive sexuality education, non-use of contraceptives, male's responsibility to buy condoms, early sexual debut and inappropriate forms of recreation). Individual factors (excessive use of alcohol, substance abuse, educational status, low self-esteem, and inability to resist sexual temptation, curiosity, and cell phone usage). Health service-related factors (cost of contraceptives, Inadequate and unskilled health workers, long waiting time and lack of privacy at clinics, lack of comprehensive sexuality education, misconceptions about contraceptives, and non-friendly adolescent reproductive services,) as influencing adolescent pregnancies in Sub-Saharan Africa CONCLUSION: High levels of adolescent pregnancies in Sub-Saharan Africa is attributable to multiple factors. Our study, however, categorized these factors into three major themes; sociocultural and economic, individual, and health service related factors as influencing adolescent pregnancies. Community sensitization, comprehensive sexuality education and ensuring girls enroll and stay in schools could reduce adolescent pregnancy rates. Also, provision of adolescent-friendly health services in schools and healthcare centers and initiating adolescent empowerment programs could have a positive impact.
撒哈拉以南非洲的青少年怀孕率一直居高不下。本综述的目的是确定影响撒哈拉以南非洲青少年怀孕的因素，以便设计适当的干预计划。
在 MEDLINE、Scopus、Web of science 和 Google Scholar 数据库中使用以下关键词进行搜索：决定因素、因素、原因、社会文化因素、青少年怀孕、意外怀孕和撒哈拉以南非洲。纳入的研究为定性和横断面研究，旨在评估影响撒哈拉以南非洲青少年怀孕的因素作为主要结局变量。我们的搜索仅限于 2000 年至 2017 年以英语发表的文章。有 24 篇原始文章符合纳入标准。
该研究确定了社会文化、环境和经济因素（同伴影响、成年男性的不当性要求、强迫性关系、不平等的性别权力关系、贫困、宗教、早婚、缺乏父母咨询和指导、父母忽视、缺乏负担得起或免费的教育、缺乏全面的性教育、不使用避孕药具、男性有责任购买避孕套、性早期开始和不适当的娱乐形式）。个人因素（过度饮酒、药物滥用、教育程度、低自尊、无法抵制性诱惑、好奇心和使用手机）。与卫生服务相关的因素（避孕药具的费用、卫生工作者不足且缺乏技能、诊所等待时间长且缺乏隐私、缺乏全面的性教育、对避孕药具的误解以及不友好的青少年生殖服务）。
撒哈拉以南非洲青少年怀孕率居高不下的原因是多方面的。然而，我们的研究将这些因素分为三大主题；社会文化和经济、个人和与卫生服务相关的因素，这些因素影响青少年怀孕。社区宣传、全面的性教育以及确保女孩入学和留校可以降低青少年怀孕率。此外，在学校和医疗保健中心提供青少年友好型卫生服务并启动青少年赋权计划可能会产生积极影响。
