{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T11:05:59Z","timestamp":1779793559058,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779667200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":24,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Teenage pregnancy is a major public health problem with huge consequences for maternal health and pregnancy outcomes. This calls for a concerted effort from different stakeholders involved in issues of teenagers\u2019 sexual reproductive health to achieve the SDG target of 2030 on the reduction of maternal mortality. The objective of this systematic review was to estimate the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and its associated factors in Uganda.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Designs<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis standards.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data sources<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>After prospective registration (PROSPERO CRD42023486460), a literature search was conducted in PubMed, African Journals Online and Google Scholar in December 2023.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Eligibility criteria for selecting studies<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Observational studies that reported the prevalence of teenage pregnancy among teenagers were included.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data extraction and synthesis<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Articles were screened for relevance at the title, abstract and full-text levels by multiple reviewers. The quality of studies was independently appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Any discrepancies were resolved by reaching a consensus. The process of extracting data included study information, geographical categorisation, type of studies, population, sample size, results\/outcomes and prevalence of teenage pregnancy. The risk of bias was determined by Egger\u2019s test. The results were pooled using random-effects models to calculate the prevalence of teenage pregnancy with a CI of 95% and\n                      <jats:italic>I\u00b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      statistic.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Of 918 records screened, 10 studies (4143 participants) were included. The pooled prevalence of teenage pregnancy was 25.5% (95% CI 13.7% to 39.5%;\n                      <jats:italic>I\u00b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      =98.9%), with individual study estimates ranging widely from 3.0% to 56.4%, reflecting substantial heterogeneity across study settings, populations and periods of data collection. Higher estimates were observed in the Central\u2013Eastern region (31.7%, 95%\u2009CI 19.5% to 45.1%). The overall certainty of evidence was rated as very low using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework, primarily due to very serious inconsistency across included studies (\n                      <jats:italic>I\u00b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      =98.9%).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Pooling studies of mixed quality revealed a slightly higher prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Uganda. This review provides valuable insight for policymakers and healthcare providers in developing interventions and policies to reduce the burden of teenage pregnancy from disadvantaged backgrounds.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>PROSPERO registration number<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>CRD42023486460.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-101827","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T09:05:19Z","timestamp":1779786319000},"page":"e101827","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence of teenage pregnancy and associated factors in Uganda: a meta-analysis and systematic review"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7068-8790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Babatunde Abdulmujeeb","family":"Aremu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health\/Community Medicine, Islamic University in Uganda, Kampala, Uganda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2814-3890","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ismail Bamidele","family":"Afolabi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Population Health, Cavendish University Uganda, Kampala, Uganda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Awunor Nyemike","family":"Simeon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Community Medicine, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salaam","family":"Mujeeb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pathology, Islamic University in Uganda, Mbale, Uganda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026052603470208000_16.5.e101827.1","unstructured":"UNICEF . 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