Mat Lowe, Mariama Bojang, Alhagie Gaye, Isatou Njie, Awa Dubois
{"title":"冈比亚农村预防早婚的5年社区干预措施的研究结果和经验教训。","authors":"Mat Lowe, Mariama Bojang, Alhagie Gaye, Isatou Njie, Awa Dubois","doi":"10.1186/s12978-025-01992-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Preventing Early Marriage in Rural Gambia: Testing an Intervention was a 5-year project that aimed to address early marriage among girls in 53 rural communities in The Gambia. At baseline, the aim of the project was to identify the social and cultural factors that contribute to early marriage for girls aged 10-19. The baseline findings revealed that factors such as ethnicity and parents' concerns about their daughters engaging in premarital sex were significant contributors to early marriage for girls. Additionally, the lack of viable alternatives to marriage was also identified as a key factor. This information was utilized by the project team to design and implement the project intervention that included community engagement forums and discussion sessions and capacity building for key community stakeholders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study compared the project's baseline and endline data to assess the impact of the project intervention on girls' age at first marriage and changes in parents' knowledge of and attitudes toward early marriage and its prevention. It utilized a non-experimental evaluation design.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study results showed a significant increase in the average age of girls at first marriage, from 15.9 at baseline to 23.9 years at endline (P < 0.0001). Additionally, parents who actively participated in the community engagement forums and discussions have significantly improved their understanding of the harmful effects of early marriage on girls. This new knowledge has empowered these parents to re-evaluate the necessity of early marriage for girls.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A key lesson we learned from developing this project intervention is that locally-based interventions, carefully designed and implemented with meaningful participation from key community stakeholders, have the potential to address the underlying causes of early marriage for girls in rural communities in The Gambia.</p>","PeriodicalId":20899,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Health","volume":"22 Suppl 1","pages":"75"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12125751/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Findings and lessons learned from developing a 5-year community-based intervention for preventing early marriage in rural Gambia.\",\"authors\":\"Mat Lowe, Mariama Bojang, Alhagie Gaye, Isatou Njie, Awa Dubois\",\"doi\":\"10.1186/s12978-025-01992-5\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Preventing Early Marriage in Rural Gambia: Testing an Intervention was a 5-year project that aimed to address early marriage among girls in 53 rural communities in The Gambia. At baseline, the aim of the project was to identify the social and cultural factors that contribute to early marriage for girls aged 10-19. The baseline findings revealed that factors such as ethnicity and parents' concerns about their daughters engaging in premarital sex were significant contributors to early marriage for girls. Additionally, the lack of viable alternatives to marriage was also identified as a key factor. This information was utilized by the project team to design and implement the project intervention that included community engagement forums and discussion sessions and capacity building for key community stakeholders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study compared the project's baseline and endline data to assess the impact of the project intervention on girls' age at first marriage and changes in parents' knowledge of and attitudes toward early marriage and its prevention. It utilized a non-experimental evaluation design.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study results showed a significant increase in the average age of girls at first marriage, from 15.9 at baseline to 23.9 years at endline (P < 0.0001). Additionally, parents who actively participated in the community engagement forums and discussions have significantly improved their understanding of the harmful effects of early marriage on girls. This new knowledge has empowered these parents to re-evaluate the necessity of early marriage for girls.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A key lesson we learned from developing this project intervention is that locally-based interventions, carefully designed and implemented with meaningful participation from key community stakeholders, have the potential to address the underlying causes of early marriage for girls in rural communities in The Gambia.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":20899,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Reproductive Health\",\"volume\":\"22 Suppl 1\",\"pages\":\"75\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-05-31\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12125751/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Reproductive Health\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-025-01992-5\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Reproductive Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-025-01992-5","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
Findings and lessons learned from developing a 5-year community-based intervention for preventing early marriage in rural Gambia.
Background: Preventing Early Marriage in Rural Gambia: Testing an Intervention was a 5-year project that aimed to address early marriage among girls in 53 rural communities in The Gambia. At baseline, the aim of the project was to identify the social and cultural factors that contribute to early marriage for girls aged 10-19. The baseline findings revealed that factors such as ethnicity and parents' concerns about their daughters engaging in premarital sex were significant contributors to early marriage for girls. Additionally, the lack of viable alternatives to marriage was also identified as a key factor. This information was utilized by the project team to design and implement the project intervention that included community engagement forums and discussion sessions and capacity building for key community stakeholders.
Methods: This study compared the project's baseline and endline data to assess the impact of the project intervention on girls' age at first marriage and changes in parents' knowledge of and attitudes toward early marriage and its prevention. It utilized a non-experimental evaluation design.
Results: The study results showed a significant increase in the average age of girls at first marriage, from 15.9 at baseline to 23.9 years at endline (P < 0.0001). Additionally, parents who actively participated in the community engagement forums and discussions have significantly improved their understanding of the harmful effects of early marriage on girls. This new knowledge has empowered these parents to re-evaluate the necessity of early marriage for girls.
Conclusion: A key lesson we learned from developing this project intervention is that locally-based interventions, carefully designed and implemented with meaningful participation from key community stakeholders, have the potential to address the underlying causes of early marriage for girls in rural communities in The Gambia.
期刊介绍:
Reproductive Health focuses on all aspects of human reproduction. The journal includes sections dedicated to adolescent health, female fertility and midwifery and all content is open access.
Reproductive health is defined as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system, at all stages of life. Good reproductive health implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so. Men and women should be informed about and have access to safe, effective, affordable, and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, and the right to appropriate health-care services that enable women to safely go through pregnancy and childbirth.