Effect of Girl-Centered Empowerment Program on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Rural Adolescents Regarding Health Consequences of Early Marriage

Atia, Nashwa Saber; Emarah, Hanan Abd Elmohdy; Ali, Miada Mohamed; Abo Elmaaty, Ola Hussein

doi:10.21608/tsnj.2023.319673

Effect of Girl-Centered Empowerment Program on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Rural Adolescents Regarding Health Consequences of Early Marriage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Lecturer of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

² Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecological Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt.

³ Lecturer of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

⁴ Lecturer of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Fayoum University, Egypt.

10.21608/tsnj.2023.319673

Abstract

Background: Early marriage is a public health problem that violates the adolescent girl's
basic human rights. The Sustainable Development Goals had incorporated early marriage in
target 5.3, aiming to eliminate by 2030. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of
empowerment program on knowledge, attitude and practice of rural adolescent girls
regarding health consequences of early marriage. Subjects and Method: Design: A quasiexperimental research design was utilized. Setting: The study was conducted in two
preparatory schools at Zagazig city. Subjects: A sample of 100 female students randomly
selected from east and west educational administrations. Tools of data collection: A selfadministered questionnaire consists of four parts; socio demographic characteristics,
knowledge regarding health consequences of early marriage, attitude toward early marriage
and healthy practices of adolescent girls. Results: The study results revealed that there were
statistically significant improvements in knowledge, attitude and practice of adolescent girls
regarding health consequences of early marriage after the program (p < .0001). The result
also showed that knowledge score was positively correlated to attitude score (r = .379) and
practices score (r = .399) at post program phase. Conclusion: The program's implementation
was shown to be successful in improving adolescent girls' knowledge, attitude and practices
regarding health consequences of early marriage. Recommendations: Further researches
should continue to identify determinants of early marriage to assist in building more girlcentered interventions and norms change interventions that empower adolescent girls,
particularly, in rural areas in order to advocate for themselves against child marriage.