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. 2022 Sep 12;22(1):1729.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14146-0.

Socioeconomic inequalities in teenage pregnancy in Nigeria: evidence from Demographic Health Survey

Chijioke Ifeanyi Okoli  1   2 , Mohammad Hajizadeh  3 , Mohammad Mafizur Rahman  4 , Eswaran Velayutham  5 , Rasheda Khanam  4
Affiliations

Socioeconomic inequalities in teenage pregnancy in Nigeria: evidence from Demographic Health Survey

Chijioke Ifeanyi Okoli et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the high rate of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria and host of negative medical, social and economic consequences that are associated with the problem, relatively few studies have examined socioeconomic inequality in teenage pregnancy. Understanding the key factors associated with socioeconomic inequality in teenage pregnancy is essential in designing effective policies for teenage pregnancy reduction. This study focuses on measuring inequality and identifying factors explaining socioeconomic inequality in teenage pregnancy in Nigeria.

Methods: This is a cross sectional study using individual recode (data) file from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey. The dataset comprises a representative sample of 8,423 women of reproductive age 15 - 19 years in Nigeria. The normalized Concentration index (Cn) was used to determine the magnitude of inequalities in teenage pregnancy. The Cn was decomposed to determine the contribution of explanatory factors to socioeconomic inequalities in teenage pregnancy in Nigeria.

Results: The negative value of the Cn (-0.354; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.400 to -0.308) suggests that pregnancy is more concentrated among the poor teenagers. The decomposition analysis identified marital status, wealth index of households, exposure to information and communication technology, and religion as the most important predictors contributing to observed concentration of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria.

Conclusion: There is a need for targeted intervention to reduce teenage pregnancy among low socioeconomic status women in Nigeria. The intervention should break the intergenerational cycle of low socioeconomic status that make teenagers' susceptible to unintended pregnancy. Economic empowerment is recommended, as empowered girls are better prepared to handle reproductive health issues. Moreover, religious bodies, parents and schools should provide counselling, and guidance that will promote positive reproductive and sexual health behaviours to teenagers.

Keywords: Concentration curve; Concentration index; Decomposition analysis; Nigeria; Socioeconomic inequalities; Teenage pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The Concentration curve of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Absolute contribution of each factor to socioeconomic inequality in teenage pregnancy in Nigeria, 2018. The y-axis shows the absolute negative or positive contribution of each predictor to the Cn
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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