Speaker
Description
Background: Repeat teenage pregnancy is a global issue affecting low, middle-, and high-income
countries, with significant risks for both the mother and child. Despite the high prevalence of repeat
teenage pregnancy in refugee or internally displaced persons camps, there is limited data on the
phenomena, particularly among teenage mothers residing in refugee settlements. We determined the
prevalence and factors associated with repeat teenage pregnancies among teenage mothers in refugee
settlements in the West Nile region, Northern Uganda.
Methods: We performed a secondary analysis on data from a cross-sectional descriptive study
conducted on conveniently sampled adolescent girls aged 15 – 19 years, from Bidi Bidi and Palorinya
refugee settlement camps in West Nile, Northern Uganda. Cluster sampling techniques, where each
settlement represented one cluster were used. The prevalence of repeat teenage pregnancies was
assessed by self-reported number of pregnancies of more than one. Data was exported to stata
version 18 for analysis. We performed multivariable logistic regression on all variables with p<0.2 to
assess for factors independently associated with repeat teenage pregnancy.
Results: We included 131 participants with a median age of 18 (IQR: 18 to 19) years, the median age
of sex debut was 16 (Range: 13 - 18), years, and 60.3% (n=79) were married. The prevalence of
repeat teenage pregnancy was 24.4% (n=32). No factor was seen to be independently significant at
the multivariable level.
Conclusion: The study reveals a 24.4% rate of repeat teenage pregnancies among girls in northern
Uganda's refugee settlements. While no specific independent risk factors were identified, bivariate
analysis linked male-headed households and cohabitation with increased risk. These findings
highlight the urgent need for targeted strategies to address repeat teenage pregnancies in refugee
contexts.
