Factors Of Rapid Repeat Pregnancy And Its Consequences On Depression Among Adolescents In The Greater Accra Region, Ghana.

ABSTRACT

Rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) is defined as pregnancy onset within 24 months of the

previous pregnancy outcome. RRP has been identified to result from different situations

and as such might create different risks to the individual. Several studies have shown an

association between RRP and mental health issues such as anxiety, emotional stress,

depression, aggression and poorer education attainment. There is a pint-size consensus as

to which risk factors are the very key predictors of RRP and whether the outcome (RRP)

may lead to depression. This study seeks to identify the main risk factors that could lead to

RRP and its consequences on depression among adolescents.

METHODS: A mixed method approach (quantitative and qualitative) was used for this

study which was conducted in 12 public health facilities in the Greater Accra Region. An

unmatched case-control study design was used for the study. The cases were adolescent

girls aged between 15 and 19 years who have had more than one pregnancy within two

years. Controls were adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 years who have had one

pregnancy which either ended an abortion or delivery with more than twenty-four months

spacing. The sample size for the quantitative method was n= 417 with 209 controls and

208 cases. Both the qualitative and quantitative components were hospital-based. Six

FGDs were conducted among the control group in six of the selected hospitals and

involved a total of forty-six adolescents. Eleven In-depth Interviews (IDI) were also held

with every eligible adolescent who had experienced RRP (case) in six of the twelve health

facilities selected for the research. STATA 15 MP (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA)

was used to analyze the quantitative aspect of the work. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate

logistic regression analyses were conducted with p-value of