Induced abortion in Ghana: prevalence and associated factors.

The termination of unwanted pregnancies is a growing health-related issue around the world. This study used the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey to examine the factors associated with the prevalence of induced abortion in Ghana. The study sample included 18,116 women of reproductive age who had a pregnancy in the 5 years preceding the survey. A multivariate logistic regression technique was applied. The prevalence of induced abortion was higher among women aged 25-34 years, those who had secondary-level education, those living in urban areas and in the Ashanti region, those of Akan ethnicity and those belonging to non-Catholic Christian denominations. Moreover, the prevalence was higher among single women, those who had no children, those who started sexual intercourse before the age of 18, those who were currently using a contraceptive, those exposed to media and those who knew about the legality of abortion. The multivariate analysis found that education, place and region of residence, marital status, ethnicity, current contraceptive use, religion, age at sexual debut, media exposure and knowledge about abortion legality were all significant predictors of induced abortion among women in Ghana. The study findings support a call for action to strengthen family planning services and educational programmes on induced abortion in Ghana to reach the target groups identified.

Prevalence and determinants of adolescent pregnancy among women of reproductive age in South Africa.

The present study used the 2016 South Africa Health and Demographic Survey data to examine the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of adolescent pregnancy among South African women aged 15-49 years, using a logistic regression model. The results showed that adolescent pregnancy is still high in South Africa, with a third of South African women having experienced pregnancy in their adolescence. The results also found that age, race, education, employment, wealth, cohabitation, larger household size and contraceptive use generally predict the risk of adolescent pregnancy among South African women. Specifically, black African women, poorly educated women, women who are employed, those who are cohabiting, women from poorer and larger households and those using contraceptives are overrepresented among ever-pregnant adolescents. The study's findings suggest increased awareness to improve women's sex education and sexual behaviour in the country.

Socio-demographic changes in age at first marriage in Malawi: evidence from Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data, 1992-2016.

This study aimed to identify the social and demographic correlates of the trend in age at first marriage among women in Malawi, using Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data collected between 1992 and 2016. Employing Cox Proportional Hazard modelling, the results showed that the mean age at first marriage during the 18-year period remained constant at 17.4 years. Furthermore, across all the surveys, younger women married at an early age compared with their older counterparts. The results further showed that having no education, residing in the Northern region, working, belonging to the middle and rich wealth index categories, and belonging to Tumbuka, Lomwe, Yao, Ngoni and Amanganja/Anyanja ethnicities increased the risk of early marriage. The findings suggest that policies such as promoting access to education for women and enforcing the law that restricts the legal age at which a woman can marry (18 years) should be maintained and enforced in Malawi.

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DIETARY BEHAVIOUR AMONG YOUNG GHANAIANS AGED 15-34 YEARS.

This study used data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to investigate the association between selected socio-demographic factors and dietary behaviour as measured by fruit and vegetable consumption among a sample of 6139 young people aged 15-34 years in Ghana. Overall, fruit and vegetable consumption was low in young people, but females were likely to consume more fruit and vegetables than their male counterparts. Respondents from the Mande ethnic group, those who resided in rural areas and those living in the Brong/Ahafo, Ashanti and the Eastern regions consumed more fruit and vegetables than those from other regions. Females who were Catholic/Anglican, Methodist/Presbyterian and Pentecostal/Charismatic were more likely than those of other religions to consume fruit and vegetables, while Muslim males generally consumed more fruit and vegetables. The findings point to the need for interventions to educate young people in Ghana about the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables.

Social inequality and children's health in Africa: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: This study examines socioeconomic inequality in children's health and factors that moderate this inequality. Socioeconomic measures include household wealth, maternal education and urban/rural area of residence. Moderating factors include reproductive behavior, access to health care, time, economic development, health expenditures and foreign aid. METHODS: Data are taken from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2003 and 2012 in 26 African countries. RESULTS: Birth spacing, skilled birth attendants, economic development and greater per capita health expenditures benefit the children of disadvantaged mothers, but the wealthy benefit more from the services of a skilled birth attendant and from higher per capita expenditure on health. CONCLUSION: Some health behavior and policy changes would reduce social inequality, but the wealthy benefit more than the poor from provision of health services.

BIOSOCIAL CORRELATES OF AGE AT FIRST SEXUAL INTERCOURSE: THE CASE OF GRADE 9 AND GRADE 11 PUPILS IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Survival analysis - specifically the actuarial life-table method and the Cox Proportional Hazards model - was used to assess Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological model with regards to the onset of sexual intercourse in a random sample of 1697 grade 9 and grade 11 pupils in the North West Province of South Africa. Data were collected in July and August 2007. Of the contextual factors examined, only academic performance and community disorganization were found to be statistically significantly associated with age at first sexual intercourse amongst girls. High academic performance by girls is positively associated with age at first sexual intercourse, while girls who live in disorganized communities initiate sexual intercourse earlier than their counterparts in other communities. Age is negatively associated with the timing of first sexual debut among both girls and boys. Males initiate sexual intercourse earlier than females, while youths with at least one sexual partner are much more likely to initiate sexual intercourse earlier than those without sexual partners.

Association between type of birth attendants and neonatal mortality: Evidence from a National survey.

Background: Although Lesotho has one of the highest childhood mortality levels in Southern Africa, there has been limited research on the link between type of birth attendant and neonatal mortality in Lesotho. This study examined the relationship between type of birth attendant and neonatal mortality while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics of mothers in Lesotho. Methods: The study used data from the children's file of 2014 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey data. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate neonatal mortality rate and Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to assess the association between type of birth attendant and neonatal mortality. Results: Result shows that 5.3% of all births attended to by non-SBAs resulted into neonatal mortality compared to 2.8% of those attended to by SBA. Result further shows that regardless of socio-demographic characteristics, the risks of neonatal mortality were significantly higher with non-SBAs compared to SBA in Lesotho (HR: 2.00, CI: 1.31-3.06). Conclusion: The risk of neonatal mortality is two times higher among children delivered by Non-SBA. Scale-up in access and uptake of SBA is recommended in Lesotho. Thus, Policy on scale-up access to SBA at delivery at no costs need to be put in place.

Comparative survey data on sociodemographic predictors of diversity tolerance among selected university students in Ghana and South Africa.

This article presents an extensive comparison of survey data on tolerance attitudes of 1758 participants from two public universities in sub-Saharan Africa, the University of Ghana and North-West University. Multi-stage and other sampling procedures were employed to collect the data between 2016 and 2017. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations for each institution separately. Overall, participants expressed a high level of tolerance to others of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, albeit higher for those in the University of Ghana than North-West University. The findings further revealed that participants' gender, academic level, family socioeconomic status, and parental educational level were significantly associated with tolerant attitudes, depending on the educational institution.

Inequalities in morbidity in South Africa: A family perspective.

South Africa is struggling to achieve sustainable development targets as the country faces a quadruple burden of diseases. Concerted efforts to realise good health for all people require evidence-based targeted interventions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between living arrangements and self-reported ill-health among adults aged 15 years and older in South Africa. Analyses were based on a sample of 49,962 individuals drawn from the 2017 South African General Household Survey, using a multivariate regression technique to assess the distribution and predictors of ill-health. Composite indices of disease burdens were created using several related morbidities in each disease category. The findings confirm that health outcomes in South Africa vary by living arrangements of individuals, their socioeconomic status, and by the level of urbanisation or residence. It was found that women who are black, younger and less-educated, irrespective of their living arrangement, are particularly vulnerable to illhealth. Policy implications are discussed.

Survey data on gender in relation to youth political discussion and involvement at a Public University in Ghana.

This article presents extensive description of survey data on the political participation of 913 male and female undergraduate students at the University of Ghana. Multi-stage and other sampling procedures were employed to collect the data that took place between 2016 and 2017. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations for each gender separately. The findings revealed that females reported discussing politics more frequently with others than their male counterparts, in addition, ethnicity significantly associated with political discussion and religion significantly associated with political involvement for females. However, males expressed interest and involvement in political activities at both national and student levels more frequently than their female counterparts. The findings support much of the observations in the political behavior literature. Despite the gender imbalance, respondents were partial to engagement in student politics than national politics. It is, therefore, advisable that political parties focus their recruitment efforts on university campuses.

The family life of young people in South Africa from survey data: The case of North-West University.

This article presents a comprehensive description of student survey data on family life that was collected at the North-West University, South Africa between 2015 and 2016. Responses were obtained from 835 students in the three campuses of the university with the use of multi-stage sampling (stratified and systematic sampling techniques). Data analysis was carried out using tables, frequencies and percentages. The findings reveal that about one-tenth of the respondents live in richer households, one-fifth live in poorer households, while a significant proportion of more than two-thirds live in middle-income households. Less than half of the sampled respondents live with both parents, while about three-in-ten respondents live with either parent. Also, there is a significant relationship between opinion of engaging in premarital sex by young people and household wealth index.

Water intake among Ghanaian youth aged 15-34 years: quantitative and qualitative evidence.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity is on the increase in Ghana, and the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages may be a determinant. The aim of this study is to use quantitative and qualitative data to investigate water intake among Ghanaian youth 15-34 years old. METHODS: The 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data is used to investigate the effects of socio-demographic factors on water intake behaviours of a sample of 2771 male and 2806 female youth aged 15-34 years old in Ghana. Additionally, data from focus group discussions are used to examine perceptions with regard to water intake. In terms of the analysis, the quantitative bit of the data utilised Stata software and the qualitative data used the Atlas Ti software. Percentages, means, standard deviations, t test, one-way ANOVA, Tukey's post hoc test and Poisson regression were used for the quantitative analysis while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. RESULTS: Quantitative results found that age (IRR = 1.112, 95% CI 1.070-1.156) and region of residence (IRR = 0.855, 95% CI 0.780-0.937; IRR = 0.910, 95% CI 0.834-0.993) were important predictors of water intake in males, while age (IRR = 1.103, 95% CI 1.054-1.153), region of residence (IRR = 0.907, 95% CI 0.844-0.975; IRR = 1.258, 95% CI 1.130-1.400), ethnicity (IRR = 0.919, 95% CI 0.834-1.013) and marital status (IRR = 1.051, 95% CI 0.999-1.106) were found to be important predictors of water intake among females. From the focus group discussion, accessibility and physiological factors were mentioned as issues hampering adequate water intake. CONCLUSION: The similarities and differences between males and females should sensitise policy makers to the need for more gender-specific interventions to encourage water intake for the purposes of preventing non-communicable diseases. Moreover, intervention(s) to promote water intake should address issues of accessibility, physiological factors, weather and weight management.

Perceived competence of rural South-African and rural African-American families: a cross-cultural assessment of structural validity.

The present study explores psychometric differences in baseline data from rural African-American (AA) and rural South-African (SA) adolescents to establish the cross-cultural validity of the Harter Perceived Competence Scale (PCSC). Two versions of the PCSC (one English and one Sepedi) were collected from 223 rural AA families and 157 rural SA families. A multinational research team was assembled to establish content validity of the translated versions of the PCSC. Principle components analysis and multiple group confirmatory factor analysis were used to investigate structural validity. The results have implications for intercontinental research and the theoretical construct of perceived competence.

Family predictors of adolescent substance use: the case of high school students in the Cape Metropolitan Area, Cape Town, South Africa.

Family predictors of tobacco and alcohol use were studied in random samples of school-going Black, Coloured, and White adolescents (total N=1,800) in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area. The subjects ranged in age from 14 to 17 years, with a mean age of 15.95 years. Logistic regression analysis of the data showed invariance across the three racial groups in terms of the specific family variables that were predictive, as well as their direction and magnitude of association with substance use. Essentially, higher rates of substance use for all three groups were predicted by parental behavioural control, parental monitoring/knowledge and limit setting, marital relations and family stress. The findings extend the work on South African adolescent substance use by providing a view into the proximal (family) socialising forces that are related to substance use. The findings also extend the broader work on identifying specialised effects of dimensions of socialization on adolescent functioning. The discussion section includes commentary on the cultural invariance found when measuring socialising forces at this level of generality.

Analysing cross-sectional data with time-dependent covariates: the case of age at first birth in South Africa.

Analysing time-dependent independent variables requires the use of process-oriented statistical models. Yet social scientists--especially those in poor countries--have often had to use data collected at a single point in time, making their task difficult. Making several assumptions about the covariates, the present study uses survival analysis and other statistical techniques to analyse the 1996 South African population census data and examine the effects of selected independent variables on the timing of parenthood in the country. It was found that the onset of parenthood occurs late in South Africa compared with the pattern in most other African societies. While education plays a role in the postponement of parenthood within racial groups, it fails to explain the differences between African and Coloured women on the one hand, and White and Asian women on the other hand, a finding that suggests the existence of two regimes of family formation in South African society.