Publications by authors named "Elissa Kennedy"

Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the prevalence and co-occurrence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors among adolescents in Indonesia and their association with mental wellbeing.
  • More than half of the adolescents assessed exhibited co-occurring risks across multiple NCD domains, particularly linked to psychological distress.
  • The findings indicate that a higher number of NCD risk factors correlates with poorer mental health and lower quality of life.
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Unintended adolescent pregnancy is a public health priority in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where national policies specify need for easier access to reliable modern contraceptives. To reduce young people's experiences of unintended pregnancy in PNG, improved understandings of use of modern and other forms of contraception within young people's relationships is required to support the development of new sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs and policies. The aim of this paper is to understand young men's use of modern and other contraceptives.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the prevalence of mental health issues among adolescents aged 16-18 in Indonesia, focusing on both school-going and out-of-school teens from urban Jakarta and rural South Sulawesi.
  • - Findings reveal high rates of psychological distress (24.3% in-school, 23.7% out-of-school) and depression (12.6% in-school, 23.5% out-of-school), with significant gender differences in reported conditions.
  • - The research highlights the need for improved healthcare access for adolescents, especially those who are aware of their mental health issues but do not seek help, indicating a critical area for intervention.
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Background: Mycoplasma genitalium infection in pregnancy is increasingly reported at similar frequencies to other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Knowledge on its contribution to adverse pregnancy outcomes is very limited, especially relative to other STIs or bacterial vaginosis (BV). Whether M.

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Quality maternal and newborn healthcare is essential to improve experiences and health outcomes for mothers and babies. In many low to middle income countries, such as Papua New Guinea, there are initiatives to increase antenatal care attendance and facility births. To develop and implement initiatives that are appropriate, relevant, and contextualised to a community, it is important to understand how quality of care is perceived and defined by different maternal and newborn healthcare stakeholders.

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Background: Menstrual health is essential for gender equity and the well-being of women and girls. Qualitative research has described the burden of poor menstrual health on health and education; however, these impacts have not been quantified, curtailing investment. The Adolescent Menstrual Experiences and Health Cohort (AMEHC) Study aims to describe menstrual health and its trajectories across adolescence, and quantify the relationships between menstrual health and girls' health and education in Khulna, Bangladesh.

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Adolescent birth rates in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) remain the highest in Southeast Asia. There is growing recognition that adolescent pregnancy in Lao PDR is occurring within and outside marriage, but there is a lack of robust qualitative evidence to understand girls' pathways to adolescent pregnancy and contributing factors, especially outside of union (cohabitation or marriage). This study aimed to improve understanding of pathways to adolescent pregnancy in Lao PDR among girls who experienced pregnancy at age 18 or below.

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In the last decade, reduction in adolescent fertility rates in Indonesia has slowed despite national programmes and policies focused on addressing child marriage. Indonesia currently has the highest number of births to adolescent girls aged 15-19 years in Southeast Asia. There is a need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of adolescent pregnancy in Indonesia to inform programmes and policies tailored to young people's needs and priorities.

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Background: Quality maternal and newborn care is essential for improving the health of mothers and babies. Low- and middle-income countries, such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), face many barriers to achieving quality care for all. Efforts to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care must involve community in the design, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives to ensure that interventions are appropriate and relevant for the target community.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study of 699 pregnant women revealed high rates of anemia, particularly during pregnancy, with iron deficiency being a major contributor—responsible for over 72% of anemia cases during pregnancy and 20%-37% postpartum.
  • * Early intervention with iron supplements during pregnancy and between pregnancies could help reduce chronic anemia in women of reproductive age, suggesting a need for timely anemia management strategies.
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Background: Adolescence is a development period marked by the onset of a new set of health needs. The present study sought to quantify the prevalence of foregone care (not seeking medical care when needed) and identify which adolescents are at greater risk of having unmet healthcare needs.

Methods: A multi-stage random sampling strategy was used to recruit school participants (grade 10-12) in two provinces in Indonesia.

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Background: Globally, 2.5 million babies die in the first 28 days of life each year with most of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Early recognition of newborn danger signs is important in prompting timely care seeking behaviour.

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Background: Despite increasing recognition that menstruation matters for adolescent girls' health and education, few studies have investigated menstrual health challenges and impacts in Myanmar. In this study we aimed to (1) understand the menstrual experiences of girls attending monastic schools in Magway Region, Myanmar and (2) explore the associations between their reported unmet menstrual health needs and school absenteeism.

Methods: We undertook a mixed-methods exploration across 16 Monastic schools in rural and semi-rural areas.

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Background: Public health services can be inaccessible for adolescents. The private sector provides many services, but often in parallel to the public sector. This study aimed to understand current private sector engagement in adolescent health service delivery and develop recommendations to strengthen partnerships.

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Introduction: One-third of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are adolescents. Recent data highlight their health needs are substantial and poorly met by existing services. To design effective models of primary healthcare, we need to understand the enablers and barriers to care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents, the focus of this study.

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Much about the range of pathogens, frequency of coinfection, and clinical effects of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among pregnant women remains unknown. We report on RTIs (Mycoplasma genitalium, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, bacterial vaginosis, and vulvovaginal candidiasis) and other reproductive health indicators in 699 pregnant women in Papua New Guinea during 2015-2017. We found M.

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: Myanmar is a country undergoing rapid transitions in health. Its national strategic policy for young people's health is being revised but there is a paucity of population data to inform local priorities and needs. : In this paper we describe a comprehensive profile of adolescent health in Myanmar to focus policy and health actions.

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Unintended pregnancy is a major driver of poor maternal and child health in resource-limited settings. Data on pregnancy intention and use of family planning (FP) is scarce in Papua New Guinea (PNG), but are needed to inform public health strategies to improve FP accessibility and uptake. Data from a facility-based cross-sectional sample of 699 pregnant women assessed prevalence and predictors of unintended pregnancy and modern FP use among pregnant women in East New Britain Province, PNG.

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Background: By adulthood, gender inequalities in health and wellbeing are apparent. Yet, the timing and nature of gender inequalities during childhood and adolescence are less clear. We describe the emergence of gender inequalities in health and wellbeing across the first two decades of life.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Focus group discussions revealed that adolescents tend to view poor mental health as something that affects "other" people, indicating prevalent stigma, and often overlook common symptoms like stress and loneliness.
  • * Key factors influencing mental health identified by participants include family relationships, school pressures, social media exposure, and the role of religion, underscoring the need for targeted responses to support adolescent mental health in Indonesia.
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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, with the burden largely borne by people living in low- and middle-income countries. Adolescents are central to NCD control through the potential to modify risks and alter the trajectory of these diseases across the life-course. However, an absence of epidemiological data has contributed to the relative exclusion of adolescents from policies and responses.

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Background: Rapid demographic, epidemiological, and nutritional transitons have brought a pressing need to track progress in adolescent health. Here, we present country-level estimates of 12 headline indicators from the Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing, from 1990 to 2016.

Methods: Indicators included those of health outcomes (disability-adjusted life-years [DALYs] due to communicable, maternal, and nutritional diseases; injuries; and non-communicable diseases); health risks (tobacco smoking, binge drinking, overweight, and anaemia); and social determinants of health (adolescent fertility; completion of secondary education; not in education, employment, or training [NEET]; child marriage; and demand for contraception satisfied with modern methods).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to evaluate how well adolescent girls in Indonesia understand menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and to identify factors causing poor MHM practices and missed school days during their periods.
  • - Researchers surveyed 1,159 girls aged 12-19, finding that over half reported poor MHM practices, and 11.1% had missed school due to menstruation.
  • - Results indicated that girls in rural areas, with lower knowledge of menstruation, and those who believed menstruation should be kept secret were more likely to experience poor MHM practices and school absenteeism.
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