Journal Article

Qualitative evaluation of the Teenage Mothers Project in Uganda: a community-based empowerment intervention for unmarried teenage mothers

Ruiter, Robert AC, Nshakira, Nathan, Rijsdijk, Liesbeth E, Bos, Arjan ER, van Reeuwijk, Miranda AJ, Leerlooijer, Joanne N, Kok, Gerjo

2013

Overview

Background A large proportion of unmarried teenage mothers in Uganda face physical, psychological, and social problems after pregnancy and childbirth, such as obstetric complications, lack of education, and stigmatisation in their communities. The Teenage Mothers Project (TMP) in Eastern Uganda empowers unmarried teenage mothers to cope with the consequences of early pregnancy and motherhood. Since 2000, 1036 unmarried teenage mothers, their parents, and community leaders participated in economic and social empowerment interventions. The present study explored the changes resulting from the TMP as well as factors that either enabled or inhibited these changes. Methods Semi-structured interviews ( N  = 23) were conducted with former teenage mothers , community leaders, and project implementers, and lifeline histories were obtained from former teenage mothers ( N  = 9). Quantitative monitoring data regarding demographic and social characteristics of teenage mother participants ( N  = 1036) were analysed. Results The findings suggest that, overall, the TMP seems to have contributed to the well-being of unmarried teenage mothers and to a supportive social environment. It appears that the project contributed to supportive community norms towards teenage mothers’ position and future opportunities, increased agency, improved coping with early motherhood and stigma, continued education, and increased income generation by teenage mothers. The study findings also suggest limited change in disapproving community norms regarding out-of-wedlock sex and pregnancy, late active enrolment of teenage mothers in the project (i.e., ten months after delivery of the child), and differences in the extent to which parents provided support. Conclusions It is concluded that strengths of the community-based TMP seem to be its socio-ecological approach, the participatory planning with community leaders and other stakeholders, counselling of parents and unmarried teenage mothers, and the emphasis on education and income generation. The project can improve by earlier active participation of unmarried pregnant adolescents and increased support for parents.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Adaptation, Psychological / Adolescent / Adolescent Behavior / adolescents / Advocacy / Biostatistics / Care and treatment / Community / Community Health Services - organization & administration / Community involvement / Developing Countries / Education / Empowerment / Environmental Health / Epidemiology / Evaluation Studies as Topic / Female / health / Health behavior / Health counseling / Health Education - organization & administration / Health promotion / health promotion and society / HIV / hiv prevention / Human immunodeficiency virus / Humans / Intervention / intimate-partner violence / Maternal Behavior / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Methods / Mothers / Participatory planning / Power (Psychology) / Pregnancy / Pregnancy in Adolescence - prevention & control / Pregnancy in Adolescence - psychology / Pregnancy in Adolescence - statistics & numerical data / Pregnant women / Public Health / Reproductive health / Research Article / risk / Risk Assessment / school / Self-Help Groups - organization & administration / Single Parent / Single Person - psychology / Single Person - statistics & numerical data / Social aspects / Social conditions / Socioeconomic Factors / south-africa / Stigma / Stress, Psychological / sub-saharan africa / Teenage mothers / Teenage parents / Teenage pregnancy / Teenagers / trends / Uganda / Unmarried mothers / Vaccine / Women's health services / Young Adult / Youth