Factors contributing to adolescent pregnancies at Hillside and Chipata day secondary schools in Chipata district
Abstract
Adolescent pregnancy is a worldwide problem which has assumed endemic proportions among
the teenagers especially in the poorer nations. This problem is a multifaceted problem as it
involves social, political, cultural, educational and economical factors.
Zambia’s maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate according to Zambia Demographic
Health Survey for 2013-2014 are 398/ 100 000 and 66/ 1 000 respectively. According to Panday
et al 2009, because of the physiological risks associated with early childbirth, and the risk to the
overall wellbeing of the mother and their children, decreasing adolescent fertility is identified as
one of the indicators to monitor progress in achieving the millennium development goals four
and five.
A descriptive cross section study design was used. Data was collected from February to April
2015 from participants who meet the enrolment criteria. A self administered questionnaire will
be used to obtain socio-demographic data and knowledge on pregnancy.
The data collected were entered directly into data editor of SSPS version 22.0 software statistical
package so as to obtain a data set. Statistical data was presented using frequency tables, cross
tabulation tables, histograms, pie charts and graphs. Chi square test was used for statistical
significance. A p-value of 0.05% and odds ratio (95% CI) was set.
The findings of the study showed that marital status, having a boy friend, having unprotected
sexual intercourse and not accessing family planning services were strongly associated with
factors contributing to adolescent pregnancies in these two schools.
The findings of the study were presented to the School of Nursing Sciences, The Ministry of
Education, The University of Zambia library, The Ministry of Health and participants. The
findings will then be published in the Peer reviewed journal.
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Description
THESIS MSC(NURSING