Table 1. Literature review summary.

Article reviewed	Type	Objective	Study/evaluation design
*Akara10	Peer-reviewed	To highlight experiences of girls participating in empowerment and leadership programmes	Narrative
Bash-Taqi11	Grey literature	To describe the level of readiness to implement the Global Strategy for Women, Children and Adolescent health (2016–2030) in Sierra Leone	Epidemiological review and situational analysis based on 11 semi-structured key informant interviews of purposively selected policy-makers and a snowball of other key actors
Bransky et al2	Grey literature	To understand the lived experiences of child marriage in order to create a more holistic picture of life for married and pregnant girls and those at risk of marriage and teenage pregnancy	Cultural theory analysis based on semi-structured discussion groups and individual ethnographic interviews
Bruce12	Peer-reviewed	To respond to questions from the Editor of the Journal of Virus Eradication	Viewpoint response on the importance of fulfilling the basic human rights of adolescent girls and their relationship with viral epidemics such as HIV
Coinco13	Grey literature	To determine the present community practices and beliefs surrounding teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood and the communities’ existing responses; to establish the factors leading to teenage pregnancy relating to sexual behaviour of girls, boys and men, reproductive health knowledge, power relations, peer pressure, and others; to establish the impact of teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood on their education and mental health; and to provide recommendations on how to address the problem of teenage pregnancy and improve the lives of teenage mothers	Multi-method study with both qualitative and quantitative data sources, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, positive deviance approach and questionnaires
De Koning et al14	Grey literature	To provide insights on girls’ decision-making around sex, pregnancy and marriage, as well as the resulting consequences for girls’ choices	Exploratory and descriptive study involving case study development, in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions
Denney et al15	Grey literature	To map out the scope of the problem of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone in the post-Ebola context by providing an overview of common intervention types, gaps and current programming responses	Semi-structured interviews with government and donor agencies and local and international NGOs
*Denney et al16	Grey literature	To provide a broad set of reflections on current programming approaches – what is missing, what some of the challenges of implementation are, and whether the underlying logic implicit in programme approaches makes sense	Qualitative study involving interviews and focus group discussions a variety of stakeholders
Diarra et al17	Grey literature	To determine the factors that lead to teenage pregnancy and to identify the consequences of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone	Mixed-method study involving quantitative data from the 2008 SLDHS and focus group discussions
*Dunlop and Penzhorn18	Grey literature	To comment on teenage pregnancy, social support and livelihood	Commentary
Ebola Deeply19	Grey literature	–	Interview with Chernor Bah, Founder of Purposeful
Elston et al20	Peer-reviewed	To identify and quantify the impact of the outbreak on population health and health systems	Mixed-method study involving interviews, focus groups, and interrogation and analysis of data from health facilities, district health records and burial teams; T-tests performed to compare periods before and during the outbreak
*Farzaneh21	Grey literature	To examine the root causes of teenage pregnancy	Implementation of pilot projects in 7 districts with the aim of reducing the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in each; focus groups discussions and key informant interviews used to assess change
Kosia22	Grey literature	To examine the “cultural dynamic” of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone and analyse the teenage pregnancy reduction strategic plan to deduce whether the plan may be successful in achieving its goal	Data drawn from a four-month (January–April 2014) practicum experience with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone, complemented by literature searches on select websites relating to the NSRTP
*Republic of Sierra Leone23	Grey literature	To analyse the risk factors contributing to teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls who became pregnant during the Ebola outbreak.	Mixed-methods study involving questionnaire and semi-structured interviews
*Restless Development24	Grey literature	To reflect the views of young people across Sierra Leone with respect to the key issues affecting their lives	Study involving focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and literature review
*Runsewe-Abiodum and Bondi25	Peer-reviewed	To describe the health seeking habits of a cohort of teenage mothers attending an under-five clinic with a view to determining the impact on the survival of their children	Descriptive cross-sectional and prospective study
Shirley et al26	Grey literature	To assess the impact of the community-driven interventions on the incidence of teenage pregnancy and on a range of immediate and medium-term outcomes, including knowledge levels, access to/use of contraception and social norms	Baseline study that formed part of a larger quasi-experimental action research initiative with multiple phases and randomised cluster trial design
*Stark et al27	Grey literature	To test the value of non-formal-formal linkages and the effectiveness of community owned and driven interventions that seek to reduce teenage pregnancy	Quasi-experimental study with randomised trial design that included baseline and endline surveys
Stark et al7	Peer-reviewed	To evaluate associations between living arrangement and orphanhood on recent sexual activity and pregnancies out of wedlock in Sierra Leone	Study involving surveys in two rural districts with 530 adolescents
*Steifel28	Grey literature	To understand how the Ebola epidemic impacted maternal and child health in Liberia and Sierra Leone.	Documentation

*Articles not cited in results.