Adolescent health indicators in humanitarian settings: A crosscountry comparison

Aisha Shalash, Dervla Kelly, Khalifa Elmusharaf, Niveen Abu-Rmeileh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Adolescents (aged 10-19) face many barriers to health services, especially in humanitarian crises. Developing a response to adolescent health needs requires age and sex-disaggregated data. We aim to collect available adolescent health indicators and their sources in humanitarian crises to identify gaps in the data to inform policy and practice. Methods: Adolescent health indicators of five countries currently facing humanitarian crises: Myanmar, Nigeria, Ukraine, Yemen, and occupied Palestinian territories, were collected. An extensive search on the available adolescent health indicators was done using surveys in each country, reports, assessments by humanitarian organizations, and peer-reviewed journals. Data were extracted on the source of information, indicator name, domain, categorization, level, numerator and denominator, age groups, and sex on each indicator. Results: The Multiple Indicator Cluster and Demographic Health Survey were done in all five countries selected, but surveys were adjusted according to the appropriateness of each country and done infrequently. Yemen and occupied Palestinian territories only included women in their sample sizes, and no one younger than 15 was interviewed. Many times countries’ indicators used by humanitarian organizations were out-of-date. Yemen’s latest survey was done in 2015. The most frequent indicators found were in the categorization of reproductive health. Limited data was found on adolescents aged 10-14, boys,and WASH and nutrition indicators. Out of 52 proposed priority indicators, the most any country fully collected was seven indicators Conclusion: Adolescent health information in humanitarian crises requires frequent surveys and unique data collection methodologies, including all adolescent age groups. Unfortunately, the current surveys used to measure adolescent health indicators cannot be inclusive to all adolescents. Establishing a list of priority indicators in humanitarian settings will help agencies provide appropriate health services and programs based on the adolescent needs of the country.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)341-342
Number of pages2
JournalPopulation Medicine
Volume5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Externally publishedYes

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