Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Title | Study Authors /Reference ID | Year | Country | Study Design/Quality 1 | Sample | Type of Empowerment | Empowerment (Measurement) | Major Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adolescent women’s sports involvement and sexual behavior/health: A process-level investigation | Lehman et al. [33] | 2004 | United States | Mixed Methods investigation Low |
176 adolescent women, 18–19 years | Educational and community empowerment | Self-empowerment/efficacy were asked to complete 4 scales (Masculinity, Femininity, Self-Reliance, Self-Efficacy) | Adolescent women’s involvement in organized team sports was significantly associated with the following: (a) sexual-risk-taking behavior (r = −0.34, p < 0.001), (b) sexual health-seeking behavior (r = 0.24, p < 0.01) 2, and (c) sexual/reproductive health (r = 0.21, p < 0.01). |
| Impact of a preconception counseling program for teens with type 1 diabetes (READY-Girls) on patient-provider interaction, resource utilization, and cost | Rodgers Fischl et al. [34] | 2010 | United States | Randomized controlled Low |
88 teens with type I diabetes, (control n = 43), (intervention n = 45), age range 13.2–19.7, M age = 16.7 | Economy, policy, educational empowerment | (a) Knowledge, attitudes, intentions and behaviors 3 (b) economic analysis (resource utilization, direct medical costs, break-even cost analysis | IG had significant and sustained group and time interaction for benefits and knowledge (preconception counseling and reproductive health. (3 months, p < 0.001, 9 months, p < 0.01 (benefits) p <0.001 (knowledge) and (intention). Direct medical costs were low. |
| Understanding orphan and non-orphan adolescents’ sexual risks in the context of poverty: A qualitative study in Nyanza Province, Kenya | Juma et al. [35] | 2013 | Kenya | Qualitative High |
78 (53%) participants were adolescent aged 14–17 years (with 41 female (53%) and 37 male (47%)). 69 (47%) were caregivers | Economic and policy empowerment | This study used focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) with the following themes relating to poverty and risky sexual behavior. | Poverty seen as key predisposing factor to risky sexual behaviors. Poverty linked with factors that increase vulnerability to transactional sex, early marriage, sexual experimentation, and increased risk of unintended pregnancies and STI/HIV 6 |
| Rape prevention through empowerment of adolescent girls | Sarnquist et al. [36] | 2014 | Kenya | A prospective cohort Low |
1978 adolescents (intervention group)(SOC) 4 group = 428 | Educational empowerment | The intervention was grounded in social learning theory and the health belief model and was adapted from existing empowerment and self-defense modules. (self-reported anonymous survey conducted) | Decrease in annual sexual assault rates (RR = 1.61 95% CI (1.26, 1.86) compared to SOC’s 1.02 95%CI (0.67, 1.57) 5. 52.3% from intervention group reported using learned skills to stop an assault. |
| Trends of adolescent pregnancy in Brazil, 2000–2011 | Vaz et al. [37] | 2016 | Brazil | The cross-sectional (repeated) 2000-2011 Fair |
The number of live births to women aged 10–19 years. | Social, educational and economic empowerment | Descriptive study to evaluate frequency of adolescent pregnancy correlating with human development index (HDI), conducted with data from the Brazilian Live Births Information System (Sinasc) of the Unified Health System (Datasus). | Drop in live births from adolescent mothers 23.5% (2000) to 19.2% (2011). HDI score were inversely proportional to the proportion of live births from adolescent mothers |
| Coming of age: how young women in the Northwest Territories understand the barriers and facilitators to positive, empowered, and safer sexual health | Lys et al. [38] | 2012 | Canada | Qualitative (semi-structured, face-to-face interviews) High |
12 females aged 15–19 | Community and educational empowerment | (a) self-perceived barriers facilitators to empowered, safe sexual health | 4 themes influencing adolescents discussed: sexual health knowledge, relationships with the self and others, access to quality sexual health resources, and alcohol use/abuse. |
| Survival analysis and prognostic factors of timing of first childbirth among women in Nigeria | Fagbamigbe et al. [39] | 2016 | Nigeria | The cross-sectional (repeated) High |
38,948 women aged 15–49 years were identified as eligible for individual interviews | Educational empowerment | The dependent variable in this study was age at first child birth while region and geographical zones of residence, education, religion, residence and ethnicity were the independent variables. | Median survival time to first birth (years): 27 (higher education) 18 (no formal education), adjusted hazard ratio (3.36 95%CI (3.17, 3.55) among women with no formal education compared to those with higher education. Other significant factors include residence, age of 1st marriage, religion, ethnicity, use of contraceptives |
| Socio-cultural factors influencing adolescent pregnancy in rural Nepal | Shrestha S. et al. [40] | 2002 | Nepal | Retrospective Fair |
575 adolescent mothers (aged under 19 years at first pregnancy). Comparing 575 mature mothers | Community and educational empowerment | Socio-economic factors are presented in relation to their influence on pregnancy. | Comparatively adolescents had parents/elders decide majority of adolescent marriages |
| Perceptions of contraception, non-protection and induced abortion among a sample of urban Swedish adolescent girls: Focus group discussions | Thorsen et al. [41] | 2006 | Sweden | Qualitative (4 focus group discussions) Fair |
16 urban adolescent girls aged 15–18 years. | Educational empowerment | Attitudes toward contraception, induced abortion and non-protection | Themes were: a) contraception: need for accessibility and affordability b) induced abortion: increased rate linked with younger sexual initiation, c) non-protection: alcohol use, partners reluctant to use condoms, common sex abuse, need for quality sex education in school. |
1 Offers final quality assessment done by authors; 2 Analysis only conducted for adolescents with prior sexual intercourse with a male; 3 Reproductive Health Attitudes and Behavior (RHAB) Questionnaire used to assess both intervention (IG) and control (SC) groups every 3 months from baseline to 9 months; 4 SOC—Standard of Care; 5 RR—Rate Ration, CI—Confidence Interval; 6 STI/HIV—Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome.