Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study
Abstract In Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescents make up around one‐quarter of the population who are growing up in a rapidly urbanizing environment, with its associated risks and benefits, including impacts on health, psychosocial development, nutrition, and education. However, research on adolesc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Maternal and Child Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13411 |
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| author | Sachin Shinde Ramadhani Abdallah Noor Mary Mwanyika‐Sando Mosa Moshabela Amare W. Tadesse Huda Sherfi Alain Vandormael Tara Young Amani Tinkasimile Roisin Drysdale Till Baernighausen Deepika Sharma Wafaie W. Fawzi |
| author_facet | Sachin Shinde Ramadhani Abdallah Noor Mary Mwanyika‐Sando Mosa Moshabela Amare W. Tadesse Huda Sherfi Alain Vandormael Tara Young Amani Tinkasimile Roisin Drysdale Till Baernighausen Deepika Sharma Wafaie W. Fawzi |
| author_sort | Sachin Shinde |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescents make up around one‐quarter of the population who are growing up in a rapidly urbanizing environment, with its associated risks and benefits, including impacts on health, psychosocial development, nutrition, and education. However, research on adolescents' health and well‐being in SSA is limited. The ARISE (African Research, Implementation Science and Education) Network's Adolescent Health and Nutrition Study is an exploratory, school‐based study of 4988 urban adolescents from five countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania. A multistage random sampling strategy was used to select the schools and adolescents. Adolescent boys and girls aged 10–15 years were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire by trained enumerators. The questionnaire covered multiple domains including demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, water, sanitation and hygiene practices, antimicrobial resistance, physical activity, dietary behaviours, socioemotional development, educational outcomes, media use, mental health, and menstrual hygiene (only for girls). Additionally, a desk review of health and school meal policies and programs and a qualitative investigation into health and food environments in schools were conducted with students, administrators, and food vendors. In this paper, we describe the study design and questionnaire, present profiles of young adolescents who participated in the study, and share field experiences and lessons learned for future studies. We expect that this study along with other ARISE Network projects will be a first step toward understanding young people's health risks and disease burdens, identifying opportunities for interventions and improving policies, as well as developing potential research capacities on adolescent health and well‐being in the SSA region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-05ff587d78fb433db77d32977c4762bd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1740-8695 1740-8709 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Maternal and Child Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj-art-05ff587d78fb433db77d32977c4762bd2025-08-20T03:29:57ZengWileyMaternal and Child Nutrition1740-86951740-87092025-07-0121S1n/an/a10.1111/mcn.13411Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based studySachin Shinde0Ramadhani Abdallah Noor1Mary Mwanyika‐Sando2Mosa Moshabela3Amare W. Tadesse4Huda Sherfi5Alain Vandormael6Tara Young7Amani Tinkasimile8Roisin Drysdale9Till Baernighausen10Deepika Sharma11Wafaie W. Fawzi12Department of Global Health and Population, T. H. Chan School of Public Health Harvard University Boston Massachusetts USAUnited Nations Children's Funds TanzaniaAfrica Academy of Public Health Dar es Salaam TanzaniaCollege of Health Sciences University of Kwazulu‐Natal South AfricaDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine UKSchool of Health Sciences Ahfad University for Women SudanHeidelberg Institute of Global Health Heidelberg University GermanyDepartment of Global Health and Population, T. H. Chan School of Public Health Harvard University Boston Massachusetts USAAfrica Academy of Public Health Dar es Salaam TanzaniaDSI‐NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development University of the Witwatersrand South AfricaDepartment of Global Health and Population, T. H. Chan School of Public Health Harvard University Boston Massachusetts USAUnited Nations Children's Funds New York USADepartment of Global Health and Population, T. H. Chan School of Public Health Harvard University Boston Massachusetts USAAbstract In Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescents make up around one‐quarter of the population who are growing up in a rapidly urbanizing environment, with its associated risks and benefits, including impacts on health, psychosocial development, nutrition, and education. However, research on adolescents' health and well‐being in SSA is limited. The ARISE (African Research, Implementation Science and Education) Network's Adolescent Health and Nutrition Study is an exploratory, school‐based study of 4988 urban adolescents from five countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania. A multistage random sampling strategy was used to select the schools and adolescents. Adolescent boys and girls aged 10–15 years were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire by trained enumerators. The questionnaire covered multiple domains including demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, water, sanitation and hygiene practices, antimicrobial resistance, physical activity, dietary behaviours, socioemotional development, educational outcomes, media use, mental health, and menstrual hygiene (only for girls). Additionally, a desk review of health and school meal policies and programs and a qualitative investigation into health and food environments in schools were conducted with students, administrators, and food vendors. In this paper, we describe the study design and questionnaire, present profiles of young adolescents who participated in the study, and share field experiences and lessons learned for future studies. We expect that this study along with other ARISE Network projects will be a first step toward understanding young people's health risks and disease burdens, identifying opportunities for interventions and improving policies, as well as developing potential research capacities on adolescent health and well‐being in the SSA region.https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13411adolescentscross‐sectional studyhealth and well‐beingschool food environmentsub‐Saharan Africa |
| spellingShingle | Sachin Shinde Ramadhani Abdallah Noor Mary Mwanyika‐Sando Mosa Moshabela Amare W. Tadesse Huda Sherfi Alain Vandormael Tara Young Amani Tinkasimile Roisin Drysdale Till Baernighausen Deepika Sharma Wafaie W. Fawzi Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study Maternal and Child Nutrition adolescents cross‐sectional study health and well‐being school food environment sub‐Saharan Africa |
| title | Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study |
| title_full | Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study |
| title_fullStr | Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study |
| title_short | Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa: Strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi‐country school‐based study |
| title_sort | adolescent health and well being in sub saharan africa strengthening knowledge base and research capacity through a collaborative multi country school based study |
| topic | adolescents cross‐sectional study health and well‐being school food environment sub‐Saharan Africa |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13411 |
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