Prevalence and determinants of adolescent pregnancy among women of reproductive age in South Africa.

The present study used the 2016 South Africa Health and Demographic Survey data to examine the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of adolescent pregnancy among South African women aged 15-49 years, using a logistic regression model. The results showed that adolescent pregnancy is still high in South Africa, with a third of South African women having experienced pregnancy in their adolescence. The results also found that age, race, education, employment, wealth, cohabitation, larger household size and contraceptive use generally predict the risk of adolescent pregnancy among South African women. Specifically, black African women, poorly educated women, women who are employed, those who are cohabiting, women from poorer and larger households and those using contraceptives are overrepresented among ever-pregnant adolescents. The study's findings suggest increased awareness to improve women's sex education and sexual behaviour in the country.

Induced abortion in Ghana: prevalence and associated factors.

The termination of unwanted pregnancies is a growing health-related issue around the world. This study used the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey to examine the factors associated with the prevalence of induced abortion in Ghana. The study sample included 18,116 women of reproductive age who had a pregnancy in the 5 years preceding the survey. A multivariate logistic regression technique was applied. The prevalence of induced abortion was higher among women aged 25-34 years, those who had secondary-level education, those living in urban areas and in the Ashanti region, those of Akan ethnicity and those belonging to non-Catholic Christian denominations. Moreover, the prevalence was higher among single women, those who had no children, those who started sexual intercourse before the age of 18, those who were currently using a contraceptive, those exposed to media and those who knew about the legality of abortion. The multivariate analysis found that education, place and region of residence, marital status, ethnicity, current contraceptive use, religion, age at sexual debut, media exposure and knowledge about abortion legality were all significant predictors of induced abortion among women in Ghana. The study findings support a call for action to strengthen family planning services and educational programmes on induced abortion in Ghana to reach the target groups identified.

Comparative survey data on sociodemographic predictors of diversity tolerance among selected university students in Ghana and South Africa.

This article presents an extensive comparison of survey data on tolerance attitudes of 1758 participants from two public universities in sub-Saharan Africa, the University of Ghana and North-West University. Multi-stage and other sampling procedures were employed to collect the data between 2016 and 2017. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations for each institution separately. Overall, participants expressed a high level of tolerance to others of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, albeit higher for those in the University of Ghana than North-West University. The findings further revealed that participants' gender, academic level, family socioeconomic status, and parental educational level were significantly associated with tolerant attitudes, depending on the educational institution.

Inequalities in morbidity in South Africa: A family perspective.

South Africa is struggling to achieve sustainable development targets as the country faces a quadruple burden of diseases. Concerted efforts to realise good health for all people require evidence-based targeted interventions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between living arrangements and self-reported ill-health among adults aged 15 years and older in South Africa. Analyses were based on a sample of 49,962 individuals drawn from the 2017 South African General Household Survey, using a multivariate regression technique to assess the distribution and predictors of ill-health. Composite indices of disease burdens were created using several related morbidities in each disease category. The findings confirm that health outcomes in South Africa vary by living arrangements of individuals, their socioeconomic status, and by the level of urbanisation or residence. It was found that women who are black, younger and less-educated, irrespective of their living arrangement, are particularly vulnerable to illhealth. Policy implications are discussed.

Survey data on gender in relation to youth political discussion and involvement at a Public University in Ghana.

This article presents extensive description of survey data on the political participation of 913 male and female undergraduate students at the University of Ghana. Multi-stage and other sampling procedures were employed to collect the data that took place between 2016 and 2017. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations for each gender separately. The findings revealed that females reported discussing politics more frequently with others than their male counterparts, in addition, ethnicity significantly associated with political discussion and religion significantly associated with political involvement for females. However, males expressed interest and involvement in political activities at both national and student levels more frequently than their female counterparts. The findings support much of the observations in the political behavior literature. Despite the gender imbalance, respondents were partial to engagement in student politics than national politics. It is, therefore, advisable that political parties focus their recruitment efforts on university campuses.

Socio-demographic changes in age at first marriage in Malawi: evidence from Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data, 1992-2016.

This study aimed to identify the social and demographic correlates of the trend in age at first marriage among women in Malawi, using Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data collected between 1992 and 2016. Employing Cox Proportional Hazard modelling, the results showed that the mean age at first marriage during the 18-year period remained constant at 17.4 years. Furthermore, across all the surveys, younger women married at an early age compared with their older counterparts. The results further showed that having no education, residing in the Northern region, working, belonging to the middle and rich wealth index categories, and belonging to Tumbuka, Lomwe, Yao, Ngoni and Amanganja/Anyanja ethnicities increased the risk of early marriage. The findings suggest that policies such as promoting access to education for women and enforcing the law that restricts the legal age at which a woman can marry (18 years) should be maintained and enforced in Malawi.

The family life of young people in South Africa from survey data: The case of North-West University.

This article presents a comprehensive description of student survey data on family life that was collected at the North-West University, South Africa between 2015 and 2016. Responses were obtained from 835 students in the three campuses of the university with the use of multi-stage sampling (stratified and systematic sampling techniques). Data analysis was carried out using tables, frequencies and percentages. The findings reveal that about one-tenth of the respondents live in richer households, one-fifth live in poorer households, while a significant proportion of more than two-thirds live in middle-income households. Less than half of the sampled respondents live with both parents, while about three-in-ten respondents live with either parent. Also, there is a significant relationship between opinion of engaging in premarital sex by young people and household wealth index.

Analysis of up-flow aerated biological activated carbon filter technology in drinking water treatment.

Problems have been found in the traditional post-positioned down-flow biological activated carbon filter (DBACF), such as microorganism leakage and low biodegradability. A pilot test was carried out to place a BACF between the sediment tank and the sand filter; a new technology of dual media up-flow aerated biological activated carbon filter (UBACF) was developed. Results showed that in terms of the new process, the up-flow mode was better than the down-flow. Compared with the DBACF, the problem of microorganism leakage could be well resolved with the UBACF process by adding disinfectant before the sand filtration, and a similar adsorption effect could be obtained. For the tested raw water, the COD(Mn) and NH3-N removal rate was 54.6% and 85.0%, respectively, similar to the waterworks with the DBACF process. The UBACF greatly enhanced oxygen supply capability and mass transfer rate via aeration, and the NH3-N removal ability was significantly improved from 1.5 mg/L to more than 3 mg/L. Influent to the UBACF with higher turbidity could be coped with through the primary filtration of the ceramisite layer combined with fluid-bed technology, which gave the carbon bed a low-turbidity environment of less than 1.0 NTU. The backwashing parameters and carbon abrasion rate of the two processes were almost the same.