The determinants of early childbearing by disability status in Uganda: an analysis of demographic and health survey data

Introduction: females with disabilities experience multiple sexual and reproductive challenges that can result in teenage pregnancy and motherhood. This study assessed the determinants of early childbearing among women by disability status. Methods: the study used the 2016 Uganda demographic and health survey data, analyzing a weighted sample of 18,506 women of reproductive age. We used frequency distributions to describe respondents´ characteristics, chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regressions to establish the determinants of early childbearing. Results: early childbearing is higher among women with disabilities. The determinants of early childbearing among women with disabilities were marital status, religion, education, and occupation. The odds of early childbearing were higher among ever married compared with never married women (aOR=5.35; 95% CI: 2.42-11.84, p=0.000); women who engaged in sales and services compared with those that did not work (aOR=2.73; 95% CI: 1.36-5.50, p=0.005); and smaller religious faiths compared with protestants (aOR=2.70; 95% CI: 1.04-1.34, p=0.047). The odds reduced with advancement in education. Region, attitude towards violence and knowledge of the ovulatory cycle, though associated with early childbearing for nondisabled women were not significant for women with disabilities. Conclusion: the lack of formal education and early marriages increased the odds of early childbearing for all women. Efforts to address early childbearing especially for women with disabilities should consider advancing women´s education; and preventive measures targeting women of smaller religious faiths, stressing the dangers of early sex and marriages. The measures should target women with disabilities irrespective of attitudes towards violence, knowledge concerning fertility, and region

The power of the interviewer

African censuses and surveys remain dependent on interviewers for data collection with data quality assured through training and supervision. Many survey concepts and definitions are difficult to translate into African languages and some, such as the household, may have multiple criteria (sleeping, eating together and recognising an authority) which may not be fulfilled by everyone leading interviewers to prioritise different criteria. Some questions introduce unfamiliar ideas which may require considerable explanation by interviewers in order to obtain acceptable answers. Using published definitions, enumerator manuals and qualitative interview data with interviewers, supervisors, trainers, survey organisers and analysts in Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal and Burkina, we identify key areas where interviewer judgement plays a significant role in determining who is included or excluded from household surveys, or in shaping responses to certain questions. Interviewers take their responsibilities seriously but their preconceptions and interpretations have consequences for data reliability and harmonisation goals

Spousal sexual violence, sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infections among ever-married women in Uganda

Despite the increasing recognition of the significance of spousal sexual violence in developing countries, evidence on its consequences for reproductive health remains limited. The aim of the paper was to examine the relationship between spousal sexual violence (SSV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) using a sample of 1749 ever-married women, from the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. Pearson Chi-square tests and binary logistic regressions were used to investigate associations between SSV, STIs and selected reproductive health outcomes. From the analyses, 25% and 15% of ever-married women experienced SSV and reported STIs, respectively in the last 12 months. Women who experienced SSV were twice more likely to have had STIs in the last 12 months compared to those who did not. SSV is an important social and public health problem having implications on women's reproductive health and interventions to improve it should directly address the issue of spousal sexual violence

Violence against children perpetrated by peers: A cross-sectional school-based survey in Uganda.

Violence against children by peers is a global public health problem. We aimed to assess factors associated with peer violence victimization among primary school children in Uganda. We conducted multilevel multivariable logistic regression analyses of cross-sectional data from 3706 primary students in 42 Ugandan primary schools. Among primary school students, 29% and 34% had ever experienced physical and emotional violence perpetrated by their peers, respectively. Factors strongly associated with both physical and emotional violence were similar and overlapping, and included exposure to interparental violence, having an attitude supportive of violence against children from school staff, not living with biological parents, working for payment, and higher SDQ score. However, we found that younger age, sharing sleeping area with an adult and achieving a higher educational performance score, were specifically associated with physical violence. On the other hand, being female, walking to school, reporting disability and eating one meal on the previous day, were particularly associated with emotional violence. Interventions to reduce peer violence should focus on family contexts, school environments and those with poor socio-economic status may need extra support

Estimating the Poverty of Older Persons in Uganda. : The limitations of poverty indicators

International audienc

Les personnes âgées africaines sont-elles toutes vulnérables ?

Les personnes âgées africaines, longtemps restées à l’écart des politiques publiques, font l’objet d’une attention nouvelle du fait du vieillissement à venir sur ce continent. Ce chapitre aborde leur vulnérabilité à partir de travaux menés sur l’Ouganda. Vieillir peut d’abord être associé à une vulnérabilité accrue du point de vue des risques sanitaires en l’absence de protection sociale efficace et de services de santé publique de qualité. Faire face aux risques, qu’ils soient de santé ou autres, repose pour la plupart des personnes âgées sur l’existence de ressources personnelles (capital humain, biens, épargne…) et sur l’efficacité du soutien interpersonnel (capital social). C’est le cumul de situations défavorables qui marque les situations de plus grande vulnérabilité : l’absence de pension de retraite, l’absence de réserve (épargne, biens propres) et l’absence de soutien familial. Dans des contextes de forte pauvreté, c’est le réseau familial qui fait la différence