Abstract
BackgroundChildren under 18 years old constituted more than half (52%) of the refugee population in 2017. Adolescent Sexual and reproductive health is an essential component of primary health care. Yet, not every refugee adolescent is able to access sexual and reproductive health services.MethodsUsing quantitative data from 356 refugee adolescents and qualitative data (17 in-depth interviews and nine key informant interviews), we examine refugee adolescent sexual behaviour in Bidibidi settlement—the largest refugee settlement in Uganda using a binary logistic regression model.ResultsThe results show that 25% of refugee adolescents in Bidibidi refugee settlement had ever had sex. After controlling for all factors, results show that refugee adolescents aged 16–18 years (OR = 3.47; 95% CI = 1.09–10.94), males (OR = 17.59; 95% CI = 4.48–69.07), not in school (OR = 14.57; 95% CI = 2.20–96.35) were more likely to engage in sexual behaviour than their counterparts. Refugee adolescents who do not agree that a girl cannot get pregnant if she has sex while standing up (knowledge about getting pregnant) were significantly less associated with sexual behaviour (OR = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.10–0.85).ConclusionsResults from this study show that keeping refugee adolescents in school and providing sexual and reproductive health information are likely to delay refugee adolescents’ engagement in sexual behaviour. Therefore, there is need to promote keeping refugee adolescents in school in order to improve sexual and reproductive health of adolescent refugees living in low-income countries such as Uganda.
Highlights
During 2019, an estimated 11.0 million people were newly displaced [1]
The findings show that older age, male sex, not being in school and having knowledge of getting pregnant were associated with sexual behaviour among adolescent refugees in Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda
The results we report in this study show that 25% of refugee adolescents in Bidibidi refugee settlement had ever had sex
Summary
During 2019, an estimated 11.0 million people were newly displaced [1]. Globally, adolescents form a substantial proportion of the most vulnerable population in refugee situations [2, 3]. According to the InterAgency Working Group for Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG), 1.2 million adolescents die annually because of complications from pregnancy/ birth—around the world and two-thirds of these deaths occur in the least developed countries in Africa and Southeast Asia [3] This is due to inadequate or lack of sexual and reproductive health information and services. After controlling for all factors, results show that refugee adolescents aged 16–18 years (OR = 3.47; 95% CI = 1.09–10.94), males (OR = 17.59; 95% CI = 4.48–69.07), not in school (OR = 14.57; 95% CI = 2.20–96.35) were more likely to engage in sexual behaviour than their counterparts. Age 13–15 16–18 Sex Female Male Duration of stay in Uganda 1–3 years 4–9 years Education attainment No education/primary Secondary Religion Other Muslim Catholic Anglican Pentecostal Current marital status Married Unmarried Currently in school Yes No Total.
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