Young People In Tanzania Research Articles

Factors associated with HIV testing among youth in Tanzania based on the 2016-2017 Tanzania HIV Impact Survey (THIS).

HIV testing continues to be a challenge among the young population in Tanzania. As of 2017, only 30% of 15-19-year-olds reported getting tested and receiving their results. This study will examine the demographic and socio-behavioral characteristics associated with HIV testing among adolescents and young adults in Tanzania. Interview data from the 2016-2017 Tanzania HIV Impact Survey (THIS) were analyzed on 10,128 adolescents and young adults 15-24 years of age, representing 10.5 million youth in Tanzania. Weighted logistic regression was used to model the relationship of HIV testing with demographic and socio-behavioral characteristics. Half (50%) of respondents reported ever having been tested for HIV. HIV testing was significantly lower among males compared with females (AOR = 0.5;95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5-0.6; p<0.001), 15-19 year olds compared with 20-24 year olds (AOR = 0.4;95% CI = 0.4-0.5; p<0.001), no education compared with secondary or post-secondary education (AOR = 0.4;95% CI = 0.3-0.6; p<0.001), rural residents compared with urban residents (AOR = 0.7;95% CI = 0.6-0.9; p<0.001) and those who don't use condoms during sexual intercourse compared with those who do (AOR = 0.6;95% CI = 0.5-0.8; p<0.001). Among HIV-infected youth, younger age group, rural residents, education less than primary, single, high income, and sex workers were significantly associated with never testing for HIV. This study highlights the majority of characteristics affecting HIV testing among young people in Tanzania have not changed over the years, thus it is necessary to re-examine the current approaches to HIV testing. The COVID-19 pandemic will add to this challenge as it collides with the ongoing HIV epidemic and competes for needed medical supplies and health care provider resources. In light of this current situation, intensified and targeted HIV testing programs for at risk young populations in Tanzania should be prioritized.

Holes in the wall: Examining gaps in knowledge in child and adolescent mental health in Tanzania - Scoping review.

To perform scoping review of the existing literature available specific to child and adolescent mental health in Tanzania. An extensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE and EMBASE was undertaken to identify studies that focussed specifically on mental illness in children and young people in Tanzania. This included neurological and functional disorders, affective disorders, psychosis, epidemiological, intervention and treatment-based studies. Qualitative analysis of the studies was then undertaken to assess what is currently known about the subject and how reliable this information is and to identify areas for further research. Of 23 studies were included in the final synthesis, which could be broadly split into studies focussing on the prevalence and incidence of child and adolescent mental illness, hypothesised causes and correlations, identified treatments and interventions and qualitative studies of human experience. There is a dearth of published research regarding child and adolescent mental health in Tanzania. Although some high-quality studies allow us good insight into the epidemiology of mental illness, interventional studies are often small and low-power, and significant correlational relationships are yet to be drawn. There is significant scope for further child and adolescent mental health research in Tanzania.

Challenges Facing Tanzanian Youth in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS: Lessons Learnt from Mbeya Region, Southern Highlands

Globally, a major agenda in health and development has been HIV/AIDS mitigation measures among the youth. This follows the prevalence of sexual activity at a younger age, a burgeoning youth population that does not attend school and high unemployment that seems to push youth into alternative life patterns that involve risks to their health. Young people in Tanzania are more exposed to HIV/AIDS due to multiple factors, ranging from lack of SRH knowledge, to socio-cultural issues and poverty. Despite the fact that all people are susceptible to HIV transmission, youth – especially girls – are at the highest risk due to gender imbalances that prevent them from having support and decision-making power. Whereas numerous studies have concentrated on urban settings through a quantitative approach, this study investigated a wide-range of socio-cultural and gender related issues in rural and urban settings of Mbeya region, through a qualitative approach. The study involved 54 respondents. Qualitative data collection techniques included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and document review. The findings show that the majority of youth had heard about HIV/AIDS and its related effects; however, condom use, and attendance at SRH services was low. The challenges contributing to HIV/AIDS prevalence amongst youth include: lack of decision-making power; drug and alcohol abuse; inappropriate information about HIV/AIDS and SRH; and, household poverty. The study concludes that youth should be better incorporated in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the Tanzanian government should create a supportive environment to access youth use of SRH services and more effective implementation of its policies.

Prevalence of high blood pressure and associated factors among adolescents and young people in Tanzania and Uganda.

We conducted a cross-sectional study among school/college students in Tanzania and Uganda to determine the prevalence of high blood pressure (BP) and associated factors. Participants were classified to have high BP if they had pre-hypertension or hypertension. Interviews were done using the WHO STEPS instrument. Using data from both countries (n=1596), the overall prevalence of high BP was 40% (95% CI: 37-42). The prevalence of pre-hypertension was 29% (95% CI: 26-31) and that of hypertension was 11% (95% CI: 10-13). High BP was independently associated with obesity (aOR=6.7, 95% CI: 2.2-20.0), male sex (aOR=3.2, 95% CI: 2.4-4.4), and among males aged above 20years (aOR=5.5, 95% CI: 2.9-10.5). Consumption of fruits/vegetables was associated with decreased odds for high BP (aOR=0.7, 95% CI: 0.50-0.98). The increasing burden of pre-hypertension across age groups could explain the early onset of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) among young African adults. There is a need for longitudinal studies to explore the drivers of pre-hypertension in East African adolescents.

P17.06 Hiv prevalence and factors associated with hiv testing among young people (15–24 years) in tanzania: a secondary analysis of thmis data

<h3>Background</h3> HIV remained to be a major public health problem affecting the lives and livelihood of many in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Young people (15–24 years) accounted for 42% of new HIV infections in people aged 15 years and older; and about 80% of them live in SSA. Knowing HIV status among young people can be one of key strategies in reducing transmission. Knowing HIV status is associated with increased safe sex practices, decreased number of partners and early/timely access to ART in HIV-positive. In Tanzania, only 54% of females and 34% of males aged 15 -24 years have ever been tested HIV with limited information regarding factors associated with testing among young people. <h3>Methods</h3> This was a secondary analysis of Tanzania HIV and Malaria Indicator Surveys data (THMIS) conducted in 2011–12. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and regression modelling of survey data were used to determine predictors of HIV testing among young people in Tanzania. <h3>Results</h3> Prevalence of HIV among young people is 2.0% (young women 3% vs. young men 1%). Nearly half of all young people have ever tested for HIV (44.9%). HIV testing was associated with older age (20–24 years) [AOR = 3.0, 95% CI: 2.4–3.6]; female gender [AOR = 2.9, 95% CI: 2.4–3.5]; currently married [AOR = 3.0, 95% CI: 2.3–3.8]; formerly married [AOR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.6–3.6]; primary education [AOR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.3–2.5]; secondary education [AOR = 3.5, 95% CI: 2.4–5.1]; living in urban areas [AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2–1.7] and having stigmatising attitudes towards HIV [AOR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0–1.4]. <h3>Conclusion</h3> HIV prevalence in young women is three times higher than in young men. In this high HI-prevalence setting almost half of young people have not tested for HIV. Provision of information and sensitisation among young people on HIV testing should focus on young people who are single, uneducated and living in rural areas.

The dominant/marginal lives of young Tanzanians: Spaces of knowing at the intersection of Children’s Geographies and Development Geographies

Development Geography and Children’s Geographies have become distinct sub-disciplines in their own right, yet despite a number of cross-cutting concerns, the theoretical and practical insights of both have only more recently become explicitly shared. I use a case study of an environmental education project with young people in Tanzania to illustrate how a perspective that draws from both Children’s and Development Geographies can deliver significant challenges to both fields, yet also reveals important insights into the lives of young people in the global South. Young people in Tanzania hold distinct environmental knowledges compared to adults, learnt through projects and schools which are focused on ‘conservation’ of the natural environment. This raises challenges for critical Development Geographies, as young people appear to hold ‘dominant’ Western knowledges, yet they are also ‘marginal’ actors in society. For Children’s Geographies, this provokes questions about whether the knowledges of young people should be challenged. Local social hierarchies also govern spaces of knowledge expression. Young people can be more empowered to express their knowledge in the formal spaces of the school compared to the wider community, such that formal spaces may offer more empowering potential. This runs counter to the general thrust of Children’s and Development Geographies, often championing informal, local knowledges and spaces. There is a need to re-think education for young people in Tanzania in terms of its potential for their empowerment, but also to reconsider some of the fundamental assumptions about childhood and local community development which pervade both Children’s and Development Geographies.

Fear appeals in HIV-prevention messages: young people's perceptions in northern Tanzania

The aims of the study were to elicit the perceptions of young people in Tanzania on the role of fear appeals in HIV-prevention messages and to identify important contextual factors that may influence young people's perceptions of HIV-prevention posters. A total of 10 focus groups were conducted to investigate the role of fear appeals using the extended parallel process model (EPPM) as a guide. Young people were shown a series of images (mostly posters) with alternating high and low-threat messages (fear appeals), and then asked questions about their overall beliefs about HIV and AIDS, as well as about their response in terms of perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, the severity of the message, and their perceptions of self-efficacy and response efficacy. The images and messages that specifically targeted young people were highest in inducing perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, while pictorial descriptions of the physical consequences of HIV infection and those messages related to the stigma and discrimination faced by HIV-infected or affected people induced greater perceptions of severity. The information-based posters rated high in inducing response efficacy, while none of the images seemed to convince young people that they had the self-efficacy to perform the recommended health behaviours. The young people expressed a preference for fear-based appeals and a belief that this could work well in HIV-prevention efforts, yet they also stated a desire for more information-based messages about how to protect themselves. Finally, the messages evoking the most emotional responses were those that had been locally conceived rather than ones developed by large-scale donor-funded campaigns. Finding the appropriate balance between fear and efficacy in HIV-prevention messages is imperative. Further research is needed to better understand how and when fear appeals work and do not work in African settings, especially among young people.

Gender differences in the factors influencing consistent condom use among young people in Tanzania

AIDS has become a major cause of death in Tanzania and young people represent the most vulnerable group. Recent HIV prevalence data showed that young women are more likely than young men to become infected. This paper examined commonalties and differences in the sociodemographic and ideational predictors of condom use among young men and women in Tanzania. The data derive from a 2004 sample survey among young people aged 15-24 years in five regions of Tanzania. The sample on which the analyses were based included 1,523 single women and 1,200 single men. An ideation framework guided the analyses of the predictors of consistent condom use. Logistic regression was the main analytic method used and separate models were estimated for men and women. The most significant correlates of consistent condom use for men included perceived self-efficacy for correct condom use, discussing condom use with friends, and perceived self-efficacy for using condoms with a long-term partner. Discussing condom use with a sex partner and the perceived self-efficacy to refuse sex if the sex partner refused to use a condom were the most significant predictors for women. One implication of the findings is that for men, effective interventions should emphasize correct condom use know-how and address the issue of negative peer pressure and group norms around condom use. For women, interventions should focus on sexual empowerment.

Health services utilisation among secondary school students in Arusha region, Tanzania.

To investigate patterns and determinants of health services utilisation by secondary school students. A cross-sectional survey. Twelve secondary schools located within seven districts of Arusha region Tanzania. Three thousand six hundred and three students proportionately selected from the twelve schools according to enrolment size. Self-reported use of modern and traditional health services within the past two years. The majority (77%) of the students used only modern health services while very few (1.3%) used only traditional services. Fever was the main reason for seeking health care during the last visit. Respondents who used traditional services expressed lower level of satisfaction with the services than those who used modern services. Living situation and socio-economic status of respondent's family predicted utilisation of modern health services whereas self-rated health status and perception that poverty was a threat against one's health predicted utilisation of traditional health services. Since most of secondary school students use modern health services, improvement of the modern health system is likely to benefit this population. Further work is needed to elucidate factors that facilitate or impede use of health services by young people in Tanzania.