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Geographical Variations of Early Age Sexual Initiation among Reproductive-Age Women in Ethiopia: Evidence from EDHS 2016
Authors: Araya Mesfin Nigatu, Abraham Yeneneh Birhanu, and Berhanu Fikadie Endehabtu
Source: Archives of Public Health, 78 (Article number: 28); DOI: 10.1186/s13690-020-00411-4
Topic(s): First intercourse
Country: Africa
  Ethiopia
Published: JUN 2020
Abstract: Background The early age of sexual initiation contribute a lot for various risks such as mistimed pregnancy followed by insecure termination, developing fistula and contracting sexually transmitted infections which are currently the major public health concerns for low-income countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to detect spatial clusters and identify factors associated with an early age sexual initiation of women in the reproductive age group. Methods We used a population-based nationwide representative Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2016 data.. A total of 12,033 respondents of reproductive age (15–49?years) women who had at least one event of sexual intercourse was retrieved and included for the analysis. Spatial cluster detection and autocorrelation analysis were also done to explore the patterns of early age sexual initiation. Results The median age at first sexual intercourse among respondents was 16 (±3.3) years and more than half (66.2%) had their first sexual intercourse before the age of 18?years. The spatial variations of the age of sexual initiation was nonrandom and clustered with a Moran’s I?=?0.413 (P-value
Web: https://archpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13690-020-00411-4#citeas