Unveiling 10-Year Dynamics of Pregnancy Termination Across Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multilevel Study
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sub-Saharan African (SSA) women face significant reproductive health challenges, including unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Despite the high prevalence of pregnancy termination in the continent, multilevel determinants and recent data trends remain understudied. This study addresses these gaps by leveraging recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data and advanced statistical techniques.
METHODS: This study involves secondary analysis using DHS data collected between 2010 and 2021 from 33 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis focused on pregnancy termination among women aged 15-49, comprising a weighted sample of 470,330 individuals. The data underwent a weighting process, considering sampling weight, primary sampling units, and strata. We utilized a multilevel binary logistic regression model to evaluate the correlation between individual and community-level variables and the probability of pregnancy termination. Given the nested structure of the models, comparisons were made using the deviance statistic (-2 log-likelihood ratio). All analyses were performed using STATA version 17. Variables with a p-value ≤ 0.2 in the bivariable multilevel analysis were included in the multivariable model. The final results are presented as adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to indicate the strength and statistical significance of associations.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of pregnancy termination among…
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