Fruit consumption among young people aged 10 to 24 in Burundi: A descriptive cross-sectional survey (2019)

Objective: Fruit consumption is very important because they are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and are valuable allies in reducing the risk of cancer, obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study assesses eating behaviors and associated factors in 1,964 young people aged 10 to 24 in Burundi. Methods: This is a four-stage cross-sectional cluster survey carried out in 11 of Burundi's 18 provinces, where 110 enumeration areas were randomly selected. The data were collected using a questionnaire on the ODK platform and the results analyzed using Stata 15.0. Results: 25.3% of respondents say they rarely (less than once a week) consume fruit; girls being more concerned (27.0%) than boys (22.9%). A decreasing gradient is observed across the age groups; young adolescents (10-14 years) and adolescents (15-19 years) being relatively more affected (25.4% and 23.7% respectively) than young adults (20-24 years) of which only 18.4% rarely consume fruits. In addition, frequency of fruit consumption appears to be linked to nutritional status as 39.2% of all overweight and obese young people (2.6% of respondents) rarely consume fruits compared to only 24% in young people of normal weight. Conclusion: One in four young people rarely consume fruits with a gender dimension. Could the fact that the youngest are the most affected be related to their low autonomy in the choice of diet? Further investigations are needed to better understand this phenomenon. Our results are consistent with the idea that increasing the frequency of fruit consumption helps improve nutritional status in young people. Therefore, it would be interesting to identify in young Burundians the barriers to fruit consumption despite their relatively good physical availability throughout the country.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Is the utilization of healthcare facilities easy for young people in Burundi?

Objective: Burundi has a very young population, with a median age of 17. Therefore, youth is a public health priority to be considered to achieve UHC. This 2019 study aims to identify the determinants and behaviors of youths (10-24years) in order to guide health policies, particularly regarding Healthcare Facilities (HF) utilization. Methods: This descriptive study is a 4-stage survey design with 110 clusters. 2085 youths were interviewed in 11 of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Results: 79,2% of respondents judged HF pleasant/nice to use as youths. However, 22,5% of respondents didn’t use HF last time they had a severe disease. This proportion is higher for boys (25,5%) than girls (20,3%) and for adolescents (10-19y: 24,0%) than young adults (20-24y: 16,4%). The 3 major reasons given, all together representing 88,9% of the responses, are lack of money, distance to the HF and self-medication. HF utilization for a severe disease is correlated to education level: 81,4% of respondents able to read went to HF while only 66,2% of those who can’t (or can’t well) did. Besides, HF utilization shows a gradient according to the level of the last class attended among respondents who do not attend school anymore (low:67,6%, middle:76,5%, high:82,7%). When a disease occurs -regardless of severity-, girls are more likely than boys to attend HF (87,9% vs 81,7%). Self-medication is more used by boys (10,4%) than girls (6,9%). Conclusion: More than 1/5 individuals of 10-24y doesn’t use HF when needed. Widespread self-medication appears as an inadequate substitution practice. Besides, gender, age and education level contribute to disparities in HF utilization. The health system provides free care for under 5 children but not much has been done to facilitate the access to care of the youths, specially for the youngest not yet able to afford their own care.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Sexual and reproductive health behaviors amongst young people in Burundi

Objective: Burundi has a very young population, with a median age of 17. This study aims to identify the behaviors of youths (10-24years) in the field of sexual and reproductive health. Methods: A four-stage survey design, with 110 clusters, was conducted in 2019. 2085 youths were interviewed in 11 of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Results: Among 1902 respondents, 21.3% declared they already had a sexual intercourse (SI). First SI happens early with a median age of 17 (p25-p75: 12-18), especially for boys among whom 23.0% had their first SI before they were 10. In youngest respondents (10-14y), 42.0% of first SI happens with neighborhood members vs respectively 21.1% and 6.1% in 15-19 and 20-24y. Unexpectedly, first SI occurs earlier for individuals who are or have been to school: 34,8% had their first SI before 15 against only 12.5% for those who didn’t attend school. Use of contraceptive method is low among young people: 24.2% of respondents used a condom during last SI. This proportion grows to 38.3% including other contraception methods. Use of condom is more frequent by individuals who had first SI after 15 years of age (27.1%) than those who had first SI before (15.7%). Key reasons of not using a condom are pregnancy project (38.6%), non-planned SI (19.1%), non-return of menstrual periods after childbirth or breastfeeding (12.8%) and partner opposition for using condom (7.4%). Among girls who already had SI, 64.4% were or have been pregnant. This proportion increases to 96.8% for girls who don’t or didn’t attend school. Conclusion: This survey reveals several behaviors in youth sexual health in Burundi. Early sexual education should be strengthened to enable informed choices and improve sexual knowledge about both biological and rights aspects among young people in Burundi.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Santé des jeunes de 10 à 24 ans au Burundi - enquête 2019

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe