Marie Stopes Zambia - Teenage Pregnancy Qualitative Research: “Root Causes, and Decision-Making Pathways”

Project Timeline: 2O24 / Ongoing

About Marie Stopes Zambia

Marie Stopes Zambia is a leading provider of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services in Zambia. Operating across 8 out of Zambia’s 1O provinces, Marie Stopes Zambia plays a vital role in reaching underserved and marginalised populations, particularly adolescents and rural poor populations.

Brief

Conduct qualitative research across 5 provinces in Zambia, with teenage mothers, their male partners and communities, to investigate the contextual factors which shape the decision-making pathways leading to teenage pregnancy.

What We're Doing

Namvela is conducting a qualitative study, using a gender research framework to analyse how the adolescent girl is positioned in the socio-ecological framework, exploring individual, household, community, and structural levels, and how different socio-ecological factors and gender norms effect her ability to make sexual and reproductive health decisions. A combination of participatory Focus Group Discussions, Narrative Interviews and Key Informant Interviews are being conducted with adolescent mothers and their male partners, adolescent mothers with a disability, parents, community leaders, health workers and programme staff. Interviews are being conducted across 5 provinces where there is a high burden of teenage pregnancy.