Interventions for preventing unintended pregnancies among adolescents

E L Davids; T Kredo; C Mathews

doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v110i1.14281

In Practice

Interventions for preventing unintended pregnancies among adolescents

E L Davids, T Kredo, C Mathews

Abstract

South Africa (SA) has an increasingly high rate of unintended pregnancies among adolescents, which are coupled with poor contraception knowledge. We highlight a systematic review that evaluated the effects of prevention interventions for unintended adolescent pregnancies, and provide implications for practice that are relevant to the SA context. The findings suggest the need for multifaceted interventions that are aligned with adolescent sexual and reproductive health best practices to address the unmet contraception knowledge gap, as well as unintended pregnancies among adolescents.

Authors' affiliations

E L Davids, Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; Adolescent Health Research Unit, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

T Kredo, Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa

C Mathews, Adolescent Health Research Unit, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa