Navigating Secondary School: What Cushioned Adolescents in an Education Intervention in Urban Kenya

This paper explains sustained effects and what worked for students in the Advancing Learning Outcomes and Transformational (ALOT Change III) program. Data comes from qualitative narratives from the baseline survey of the program collected by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) between December 4, 2019, and January 31, 2020, using focus group discussions (FGDs) and dialogues. The analysis followed the Miles and Huberman (1994) framework to make comparisons and contrasts. Results showed that students transferred skills such as self-confidence from primary to secondary schools, enabling the adolescents to speak up and engage. This showed an effective implementation uptake. The implication of the study points to the efficacy of community-based programs in impacting behavior of adolescents beyond primary school

Experiences of Girls and Mentors With an Urban Kenyan Afterschool Support Program

This article explores the experiences of female mentees and their mentors in an afterschool support program in two informal urban settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. We sought the perspectives of mentees and mentors to identify what has changed concerning the education and social lives of the girls because of this education intervention. Data come from a qualitative component of the midterm survey collected in May 2014 using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The results show improvements in the English and math courses in which support with homework was given; girls were motivated to stay in school and had a higher aspiration for school. However, challenges remained, as some parents did not provide adequate support to their daughters. Overall, the program highlights the role of other significant players and reinforces the out-of-school mentor support for girls’ success in school

El Apoyo a la Educación de Niños en los Barrios Marginales Urbanos de Nairobi: Percepciones de la Comunidad y los Padres con una Fase Expandida de un Programa de Intervención Educativa

The objective of this paper is to examine the perceptions of community elders and parents on their roles regarding support to their children’s education. Data come from the qualitative component of a baseline survey conducted in Korogocho and Viwandani, two urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected in April-May 2016 through in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Results demonstrated that community elders internalized their role as the face of government in their respective communities, and enforced the implementation of education policies on behalf of all children. The community leaders also saw as part of their role the need to encourage parents to be active participants in their children’s education. Female parents with boys in the program perceived that parental monitoring and follow-up was important to ensure that their children attended school, and completed work assigned by the teachers, more so in Korogocho. Overall, parents recognized the importance of the role they played in their children’s education. This is a good entry point as parental support will ensure the success and sustainability of the intervention to improve educational outcomes for children, which in turn will help their children navigate the challenging period that adolescence presents.El objetivo de este artículo es examinar las percepciones de los ancianos de la comunidad y los padres sobre sus roles respecto al apoyo educativo a sus hijos. Los datos provienen del componente cualitativo de una encuesta de referencia realizada en Korogocho y Viwandani, dos asentamientos urbanos precarios en Nairobi, Kenia. Los datos se recopilaron en Abril-Mayo de 2016 a través de entrevistas en profundidad, entrevistas con informantes clave y discusiones de grupos focales. Los resultados demostraron que los ancianos de la comunidad internalizaron su papel como la cara del gobierno en sus respectivas comunidades, e impusieron la implementación de políticas educativas en nombre de todos los niños. Los líderes de la comunidad también vieron, como parte de su rol, la necesidad de alentar a los padres a ser participantes activos en la educación de sus hijos. Las madres con niños en el programa percibieron que el control de los padres y el seguimiento era importante para asegurar que sus hijos asistieran a la escuela y completaran el trabajo asignado por los maestros, más aún en Korogocho. En general, los padres reconocieron la importancia en la educación de sus hijos. Este es un buen punto de partida ya que el apoyo de los padres asegurará el éxito y la sostenibilidad de la intervención para mejorar los resultados educativos de los niños, que a su vez ayudará a sus hijos durante la adolescencia

Violence victimisation and aspirations–expectations disjunction among adolescent girls in urban Kenya

Background: Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of death among young women aged 10–24 years in sub-Saharan Africa. Although having multiple induced abortions may exacerbate the risk for poor health outcomes, there has been minimal research on young women in this region who have multiple induced abortions. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the prevalence and correlates of reporting a previous induced abortion among young females aged 12–24 years seeking abortion-related care in Kenya. Methods: We used data on 1,378 young women aged 12–24 years who presented for abortion-related care in 246 health facilities in a nationwide survey conducted in 2012. Socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive and clinical histories, and physical examination assessment data were collected from women during a one-month data collection period using an abortion case capture form. Results: Nine percent (n = 98) of young women reported a previous induced abortion prior to the index pregnancy for which they were receiving care. Statistically significant differences by previous history of induced abortion were observed for area of residence, religion and occupation at bivariate level. Urban dwellers and unemployed/other young women were more likely to report a previous induced abortion. A greater proportion of young women reporting a previous induced abortion stated that they were using a contraceptive method at the time of the index pregnancy (47 %) compared with those reporting no previous induced abortion (23 %). Not surprisingly, a greater proportion of young women reporting a previous induced abortion (82 %) reported their index pregnancy as unintended (not wanted at all or mistimed) compared with women reporting no previous induced abortion (64 %). Conclusions: Our study results show that about one in every ten young women seeking abortion-related care in Kenya reports a previous induced abortion. Comprehensive post-abortion care services targeting young women are needed. In particular, post-abortion care service providers must ensure that young clients receive contraceptive counseling and effective pregnancy prevention methods before discharge from the health care facility to prevent unintended pregnancies that may result in subsequent induced abortions.This work was supported by UKaid from the Department for International Development (DfID) for the Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya [Prime Award: PO 6171; Sub Award: SP1404]. Analysis and writing time was partially supported by general support grants to the African Population and Health Research Center from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency [grant number 2011-001578] and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation [grant number 2015-2530]

Association Between Domestic Violence and HIV Serostatus Among Married and Formerly Married Women in Kenya

The prevalence of both domestic violence (DV) and HIV among Kenyan women is known to be high, but the relationship between them is unknown. Nationally representative cross-sectional data from married and formerly married (MFM) women responding to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008/2009 were analyzed adjusting for complex survey design. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to assess the covariate-adjusted associations between HIV serostatus and any reported DV as well as four constituent DV measures: physical, emotional, sexual, and aggravated bodily harm, adjusting for co-variates entered into each model using a forward stepwise selection process. Co-variates of a priori interest included those representing marriage history, risky sexual behavior, substance use, perceived HIV risk, and socio-demographic characteristics. The prevalence of HIV among MFM women was 10.7% (any DV: 13.1%, no DV: 8.6%); overall prevalence of DV was 43.4%. Among all DV measures, only physical DV was associated with HIV (11.9%; adjusted odds ratio: 2.01, p < 0.05). Efforts by the government and women's groups to monitor and improve policies to reduce DV, such as the Sexual Offences Act of 2006, are urgently needed to curb HIV, as are policies that seek to provide DV counseling and treatment to MFM women

Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Qualitative report

The Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya (AGI-K) is currently delivering multisectoral interventions, targeting violence prevention, education, health, and wealth creation, to adolescent girls aged 11–14 in two marginalized areas of Kenya. This report provides a brief overview of the research design and intervention components being delivered in AGI-K, and presents findings from the first round of qualitative data collection intended to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation processes thus far. The findings provide important information about the perceived effects of the program from a diverse set of respondents. Overall, beneficiaries, their parents/guardians, and other key stakeholders value the program and have observed positive changes in girls’ education, knowledge, self-esteem, and money management. In addition, the findings have revealed key areas for improvement within each intervention sector which teams will focus on in the second year

Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya: Endline evaluation report

Early pregnancy is a challenge for girls in Kenya that often has immediate effects on their educational opportunities, future implications for their social, health, and economic outcomes, and negative impacts on their children. For girls to achieve well-being in early and late adolescence, no single-sector intervention—whether education, health, wealth creation, or prevention of violence—will be adequate. The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya (AGI-K) delivered multisectoral interventions to over 6,000 girls aged 11–15 in two marginalized areas of Kenya: the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi and Wajir County in Northeastern Kenya. These interventions were carried out for two years (2015–17) and comprised a combination of girl-level, household-level, and community-level interventions. The two-year follow-up results largely confirmed the AGI-K theory of change and held up the view that an investment in early adolescents among the right groups of marginalized girls would have short-term benefits on asset accumulation, educational attainment, and household economic status that translated into longer-term impact on delaying childbearing. This report describes the intervention and research design of AGI-K, and presents the impact findings from the two-year follow-up data

Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya: Midline results report

Many adolescent girls in Kenya face considerable risks and vulnerabilities that affect their education status, health, and general well-being. In addition to low educational attainment and health risks, other factors that impact education and health outcomes include household poverty, lack of economic independence, limited income-earning opportunities, illiteracy, violence, and social isolation. Younger adolescent girls who live in environments laden with these vulnerabilities are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes such as school dropout, early sexual initiation, unintended pregnancy, early marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence. The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya (AGI-K) delivered multisectoral interventions to over 6,000 girls aged 11–15 in two marginalized areas of Kenya: the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, and Wajir County in Northeastern Kenya. This report describes both the intervention and research design of AGI-K, and presents findings from the midline data collection. The objective of the RCT is to describe and compare the impact of the different program packages. Endline data will be collected in 2019 and will reflect the impact of the program packages two years post-intervention

Maternal Education and Immunization Status Among Children in Kenya

Abstract Child morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases continues to be a major threat and public health concern worldwide. Although global vaccination coverage reached 90 % for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) across 129 countries, Kenya and other sub-Saharan countries continue to experience under-vaccination. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal education and child immunization (12-23 months) in Kenya. This study used retrospective cross-sectional data from the 2008-2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey for women aged 15-49, who had children aged 12-23 months, and who answered questions about vaccination in the survey (n = 1,707). The majority of the children had received vaccinations, with 77 % for poliomyelitis, 74 % for measles, 94 % for tuberculosis, and 91 % for diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), and tetanus. After adjusting for other covariates, women with primary, secondary, and college/ university education were between 2.21 (p \ 0.01) and 9.10 (p \ 0.001) times more likely to immunize their children than those who had less than a primary education. Maternal education is clearly crucial in ensuring good health outcomes among children, and integrating immunization knowledge with maternal and child health services is imperative. More research is needed to identify factors influencing immunization decisions among less-educated women in Kenya