Pregnancy among adolescent girls in humanitarian settings: a case in refugee camp of Gambella regional state, community-based cross-sectional study, Southwest Ethiopia, 2021

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of pregnancy and associated factors among adolescent girls in Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study was employed to conduct this study. SETTING: A community-based cross-sectional study was done in Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and fourteen adolescent girls participated in this study. The systematic random sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data were collected using a well-structured and pretested questionnaire. Pregnancy test was done using the human chorionic gonadotropin test. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was run to identify factors associated with adolescent pregnancy. RESULTS: The prevalence of pregnancy among adolescent girls in the Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp was 21.7% (95% CI: 17.6% to 25.6%). Factors associated with adolescent pregnancy were age (17-19 years) (AOR): 2.79; 95% CI: 1.55 to 5.05; educational status: primary education (AOR: 7.69; 95% CI: 3.55 to 16.68) and no formal education (AOR: 3.42; 95% CI: 1.59 to 7.36); and household living arrangement: living with none of the biological parents (AOR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.02 to 4.49) and living with either of the biological parent (AOR: 3.71; 95% CI: 1.76 to 7.81). CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: This study showed that there is a high prevalence of pregnancy among adolescent girls in the study setting. Age (17-19 years), educational status and household living arrangement (living with none of the biological parents and living with either of the biological parents) were among the factors significantly associated with adolescent pregnancy. Hence, health workers and other stakeholders in the camps should focus on strengthening adolescent sexual health education giving special attention to late adolescents, uneducated and living without biological family.