title: A Mixed Methods Mapping of Church versus Secular School Messages to Influence Sexual Decision-Making as Perceived by Zimbabwean Orphan Girl Students.
abstract: This study examined the messages perceived by adolescent girls with orphanhood to influence their sexual decision-making. Participants were 125 students (mean age =14.7 years), 54% of whom attended church schools in a rural district of eastern Zimbabwe. We collected and analyzed data using concept mapping, a mixed method approach that enabled the construction of message clusters, with weighting for their relative importance. Messages that clustered under Biblical Teachings and Life Planning ranked highest in salience among students in both church and secular schools. Protecting Family Honor, HIV Prevention, and Social Stigma messages ranked next, respectively. Contrary to study hypotheses, the messages that orphan adolescent girls perceived to influence their sexual decisions did not vary by type of school attended.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mpofu
authors.affiliation: Pacific institute for Research and Evaluation, USA.
authors.forename: Denise Dion
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Hallfors
authors.affiliation: Department of Student Counselling, University of Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Magen Mhaka
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mutepfa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia ; University of New England, Australia.
authors.forename: Tinashe Moira
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Dune
keywords: Mixed Methods; Orphan girls; School-based HIV prevention; Sexual health; Zimbabwe