title: Empowering adolescent girls in Sub-Saharan Africa to prevent unintended pregnancy and HIV: A critical research gap.
abstract: The need to prevent early pregnancy and HIV among adolescent girls in Sub-Saharan Africa has been recognized increasingly over recent years. Although extensive work has been done to determine appropriate interventions for girls in high-income countries, very little evidence is available to guide programmatic interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The available evidence has been equivocal regarding improved outcomes. While knowledge and self-reported behaviors frequently change with interventions, including those performed at the community level, educational programs, and direct contraceptive provision, downstream outcomes rarely reflect a significant effect of the interventions; however, provision of financial or other interventions to incentivize continued school enrollment are a promising development. We suggest directions for future research to fill this critical gap in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: sharon.phillips@mail.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Sharon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Population Council, Zambia; College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Mbizvo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D035843:Biomedical Research; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000523:psychology*; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology; D012725:Sexual Behavior
keywords: Adolescent girls; HIV; Sexual and reproductive health; Teenage pregnancy