Amon Exavery1, Almamy Malick Kanté2,3,4, Sigilbert Mrema5, James F Phillips6, Honorati Masanja7. 1. Ifakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. aexavery@ihi.or.tz. 2. Ifakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. amk2213@columbia.edu. 3. Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. amk2213@columbia.edu. 4. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland. amk2213@columbia.edu. 5. Ifakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. smrema@ihi.or.tz. 6. Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. jfp2113@columbia.edu. 7. Ifakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. hmasanja@ihi.or.tz.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine levels, trends and correlates of childbearing in childhood (CiC) in the Rufiji district of Tanzania from 2002 to 2010. METHODS: Using longitudinal data collected in, and by, the Rufiji health and demographic surveillance system in Tanzania from 2002 to 2010, all women who initiated childbearing in this period (n = 5491) were selected for analysis. CiC was defined as childbearing initiation before age 18. Data analysis involved one-way tabulations of each variable-most of which were socio-demographic-to obtain frequency distributions, cross-tabulations of CiC and each of the independent variables with a Chi square test for associations, and multivariate analysis using multilevel logistic regression to examine covariates of CiC. RESULTS: CiC was 44 % and remained constant over the 2002-2010 period (P = 0.623). The relative odds of CiC was significantly reduced by 83 percent among women with secondary or higher educational attainment relative to CiC among uneducated women (OR = 0.17, CI 0.12-0.23). Moreover, the odds of CiC significantly declines monotonically as relative household wealth increases by quintile (OR = 0.70, CI 0.57-0.86). CiC also declines significantly with employment and marital status of the respondent. CONCLUSIONS: CiC represents a challenging social and health problem. Forty-four percent of first time mothers in Rufiji district of Tanzania are of childhood age, and this has not changed over the past 9 years since 2002. Prioritizing girls' formal education-especially up to secondary level or higher-as well as devising some economic empowerment modalities, may be worthwhile measures towards curbing CiC in the study area.
OBJECTIVES: To examine levels, trends and correlates of childbearing in childhood (CiC) in the Rufiji district of Tanzania from 2002 to 2010. METHODS: Using longitudinal data collected in, and by, the Rufiji health and demographic surveillance system in Tanzania from 2002 to 2010, all women who initiated childbearing in this period (n = 5491) were selected for analysis. CiC was defined as childbearing initiation before age 18. Data analysis involved one-way tabulations of each variable-most of which were socio-demographic-to obtain frequency distributions, cross-tabulations of CiC and each of the independent variables with a Chi square test for associations, and multivariate analysis using multilevel logistic regression to examine covariates of CiC. RESULTS: CiC was 44 % and remained constant over the 2002-2010 period (P = 0.623). The relative odds of CiC was significantly reduced by 83 percent among women with secondary or higher educational attainment relative to CiC among uneducated women (OR = 0.17, CI 0.12-0.23). Moreover, the odds of CiC significantly declines monotonically as relative household wealth increases by quintile (OR = 0.70, CI 0.57-0.86). CiC also declines significantly with employment and marital status of the respondent. CONCLUSIONS: CiC represents a challenging social and health problem. Forty-four percent of first time mothers in Rufiji district of Tanzania are of childhood age, and this has not changed over the past 9 years since 2002. Prioritizing girls' formal education-especially up to secondary level or higher-as well as devising some economic empowerment modalities, may be worthwhile measures towards curbing CiC in the study area.
Authors: Amon Exavery; Almamy M Kanté; Elizabeth Jackson; John Noronha; Gloria Sikustahili; Kassimu Tani; Hildegalda P Mushi; Colin Baynes; Kate Ramsey; Ahmed Hingora; James F Phillips Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2012-12-20 Impact factor: 3.295