Exploring a faith-based approach to puberty education in Tanzania

Abstract

BackgroundMany adolescents in Tanzania do not receive timely and comprehensive puberty education. This study explored faith-based organizations a site for puberty education. Two puberty books, each developed through participatory research with Tanzanian adolescents and stakeholders, were promoted to 177 Christian denomination churches in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to understand the factors that faith leaders considered in their decision to purchase puberty books, or share information about the intervention to their peers and congregants.MethodsData collection included routine monitoring via weekly reports and ethnographic observation. Data were analyzed using the Ecological Framework for Health Promotion to capture how individual, interpersonal, and institutional factors influenced leaders' decisions to purchase or promote puberty books.ResultsAt the individual level, leaders cited their personal experiences in their support for the intervention, but leaders' time and confidence in their ability to effectively promote books to others were barriers to participation. Interpersonally, the diffusion of information between church leaders, particularly when information came from well-known or respected leaders, emerged as an important factor in leaders' willingness to promote books. At the institutional level, leaders' decisions were impacted by resources, institutional culture, and institutional hierarchy. Importantly, twelve churches in the sample purchased books. Limited financial resources and the need to receive approval from denominational leaders were discussed by leaders as barriers to purchasing books.ConclusionsDespite research showing high religiosity in Tanzania, the role of religious institutions in providing puberty education has remained unexplored. Our results inform future research and practice by providing an articulation of the socioecological factors that played a role in faith leaders' decisions related to puberty education interventions in Tanzania.

How Can the Church Reclaim Backsliders? Analysis of Church Education to Reclaim Backsliders

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Taking Stock: An Adaptable Research and Partnership Model for Developing Puberty Education in 10 Countries

“…This has required partnering with local research institutions, acquiring ethical approvals, and analyzing and writing up the findings for peerreviewed publications (Table 3). 6,7,14,16,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Scientific publishing ensures that the range of insights directly gathered from youth about growing up in different countries are shared, beyond what may be included in the puberty book. It is also important to note, as exemplified by the Blake et al article that describes an evaluation conducted after Ethiopian school girls read the puberty book, how simply reading the book increased their knowledge; decreased their fear, confusion, and shame; and encouraged them to seek out the adults in their lives with questions.…”