Teenage Pregnancies in Refugee and Migrant Adolescents on the Thai-Myanmar Border

The study will be conducted as follows:

• 12-24 individual interviews with pregnant or postnatal adolescent girls (<20 years);
• 1 Focus group discussion of 6-10 non-pregnant female adolescents (<20 years);
• 1 Focus group discussion of 6-10 adolescent men (<20 years);
• 1 Focus group discussion of 6-10 Shoklo malaria research unit antenatal care staff;

Interviews and focus group discussion will be conducted with study participants who agree to participate in discussions about teenage pregnancy and motherhood, sexual and reproductive health. In-depth interviews and focus group discussion will be conducted in private meeting rooms in proximity to the antenatal clinic waiting areas. In-depth interviews and Focus group discussion will be co-facilitated by the principal investigator and a trained counsellor/midwife fluent in Karen, Burmese and English. Focus group discussion will be run separately for Burmese- and Karen-speaking participants and participants will be separated by subgroup. Focus group discussion will include 6-10 participants per group and for each focus group discussion to last between 45-60 minutes. Individual in-depth interviews will last approximately 60 minutes each.

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria

for adolescent mothers (subgroup 1) are:

• Aged 12 - <20 years
• Females
• Migrant or refugee status
• Myanmar nationality
• Any trimester of pregnancy or up to 12 month post partum
• Able and willing to participate and give informed consent

Inclusion criteria

for non-pregnant female adolescents (subgroup 2) are:

• Aged <20 years
• Females
• Migrant or refugee status
• Myanmar nationality
• No past or current pregnancy
• Able and willing to participate and give informed consent

Inclusion criteria

for adolescent men (subgroup 3) are:

• Aged <20 years
• Males
• Migrant or refugee status
• Myanmar nationality
• Able and willing to participate and give informed consent

Inclusion criteria

for health staff (subgroup 4) are:

• No age restrictions
• Females or males
• Migrant, refugee or non-migrant status
• Any nationality
• Able and willing to participate and give informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Any participant who is deemed by the researchers or health staff to be acutely physically or mentally unwell will be excluded.
• Participants who do not meet the age requirements, migration status or nationality requirements