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School-going adolescent girls’ preferences and views of family planning services in Phalombe district, Malawi: A descriptive, cross-sectional study

2022; Public Library of Science; Volume: 17; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pone.0267603

1932-6203

Chancy Skenard Chimatiro, Felistas Mpachika-Mfipa, Lumbani Tshotetsi, Precious L. Hajison,

Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

Low uptake of family planning services by adolescent girls remains a public health concern. An estimated 120 out of every 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 years are having unplanned pregnancies in the sub-Saharan region. Between January and June 2020, the Phalombe District of Malawi reported 3,030 adolescent pregnancies. At this stage, most Malawian schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The high rate of adolescent pregnancies prompted the Ministry of Health to provide emergency contraceptives to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies among adolescents. The provision of emergency contraceptives would be effective if girls were willing and able to access these family planning services. We thus explored the views of school-going adolescent girls regarding their preferences for modern family planning methods including emergency contraceptives in Phalombe, Malawi.