Adolescent girls’ health, nutrition and wellbeing in rural eastern India: a descriptive, cross-sectional community-based study

Abstract

Background India is home to 243 million adolescents. Two million (9%) of them belong to Scheduled Tribes living in underserved, rural areas. Few studies have examined the health of tribal adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess the health, nutrition and wellbeing of adolescent girls in rural Jharkhand, eastern India, a state where 26% of the population is from Scheduled Tribes. We aimed to identify priorities for community interventions to serve adolescents and their families. Methods Between June 2016 and January 2017, interviewers visited all households in 50 purposively sampled villages of West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. They aimed to interview all girls aged 10–19. Interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews with girls to administer a survey about physical and mental health, disability, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, gender norms, decision-making, education and violence. Interviewers also measured girls’ height, weight, and Mid-Upper Arm Circumference. Results Interviewers collected data from 3324 (82%) of an estimated 4068 girls residing in the study area. Their mean age was 14.3 (SD 2.9). 82% were from Scheduled Tribes. 89% of younger girls aged 10–14 and 46% of older girls aged 15–19 were in school or college. Girls dropped out of school because they were required for household work (37%) or work on the family farm or business (22%). Over a third reported symptoms of anaemia in the past month, but less than a fifth had a blood test. The prevalence of thinness (<−2SD median BMI for age and sex) was 14% for younger girls and 6% for older girls. 45% of girls were stunted (<−2SD median height for age and sex). 40% reported emotional violence in the past year, 14% physical violence, and 0.7% sexual violence. 12% had problems associated with depression or anxiety. 30% aged 15–19 had heard of contraception. Among married girls and their husbands, only 10% had ever used methods to prevent or delay pregnancy. Conclusions Our study identified several priorities to improve adolescent girls’ health, nutrition and wellbeing in largely tribal areas of Jharkhand: reducing violence, early marriage and undernutrition, as well as improving mental health, knowledge about contraception and school retention. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7053-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Utilization of ICDS program by adolescent girls and implementation barriers in Urban Rishikesh, India

“…AWC's has an important role in creating health-related awareness and nutritional status in community. In current study, 59% were undernourished which is comparable to study by IIPHG[14] (60%), Rose –Clarke[13] (41%), and higher than NFHS 4 (22.9%). [15] Study finding indicated that there were poor knowledge, unfavorable attitude, and satisfactory practice about iron deficiency anemia among study participants.…”

“…[1112] A study from the tribal area reported much higher dropout of 23%. [13] All of the AGs were aware of Anganwadi center and its location but few were aware of services provided for them. AGs believe the AWC to be only limited to preschool children.…”

Community youth teams facilitating participatory adolescent groups, youth leadership activities and livelihood promotion to improve school attendance, dietary diversity and mental health among adolescent girls in rural eastern India: protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled trial

“…In eastern India in particular, there was discrepancy between planned and actual coverage. Our baseline survey of 3324 girls aged 10-19 years in 50 villages in Jharkhand provided additional formative data [21]. We found substantial school drop-out after the age of 15: less than half of girls aged 15-19 were still in school.…”

“…One-third of the population are below the age of 15 [23]. Eighteen percent of adolescent girls aged 10-19 cannot read, and a further 30% read with difficulty [21]. More than one-fifth of girls aged 15-19 are married [21].…”

“…In this section, we describe data collection processes for the endline survey. These are identical to processes followed at baseline, which are described elsewhere [21]. Twelve monitors who are independent from the community youth teams will undertake data collection.…”