Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Characteristic | All women (including non-sexually active) (n=6513) | Sexually active, never-married women (n=1742) | Sexually active, ever-married (n=4319) | Age-adjusted p value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic | ||||
| Age (years)† | ||||
| <21 | 2641 (40.6) | 1080 (62.0) | 1176 (27.2) | |
| 21–22 | 1864 (28.6) | 430 (24.7) | 1389 (32.2) | |
| ≥23 | 2006 (30.8) | 231 (13.3) | 1754 (40.6) | <0.001 |
| Ethnicity† | ||||
| Sukuma‡ | 5295 (81.4) | 1343 (77.1) | 3620 (83.9) | |
| Non-Sukuma | 1212 (18.6) | 399 (22.9) | 693 (16.1) | <0.001 |
| Religion† | ||||
| Christian | 5764 (88.7) | 1604 (92.1) | 3736 (86.7) | |
| Moslem | 278 (4.3) | 102 (5.9) | 161 (3.7) | |
| Other | 9 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 8 (0.2) | |
| None | 447 (6.9) | 35 (2.0) | 403 (9.3) | <0.001 |
| Highest education level† | ||||
| Secondary/higher | 1234 (19.0) | 740 (42.5) | 181 (4.2) | |
| Primary | 5269 (81.0) | 1000 (57.5) | 4130 (95.8) | <0.001 |
| Occupation | ||||
| Business | 812 (12.5) | 266 (15.3) | 505 (11.8) | |
| Housework/farming | 4470 (69.0) | 788 (45.3) | 3591 (83.6) | |
| School/university | 801 (12.4) | 515 (29.6) | 13 (0.3) | |
| None/other | 400 (6.2) | 169 (9.7) | 186 (4.3) | <0.001 |
| Time slept away in the past year | ||||
| Never | 3397 (52.2) | 754 (43.3) | 2451 (56.8) | |
| <1 month | 2116 (32.5) | 604 (34.7) | 1356 (31.4) | |
| 1–3 months | 538 (8.3) | 210 (12.0) | 275 (6.4) | |
| >3 months | 462 (7.1) | 174 (10.0) | 237 (5.5) | <0.001 |
| Sexual knowledge and attitude | ||||
| Know where to get condoms in village | ||||
| No/Don't know | 1527 (23.4) | 328 (18.8) | 1028 (23.8) | |
| Yes | 4986 (76.6) | 1414 (81.2) | 3291 (76.2) | <0.001 |
| Know where to get free condoms in village | ||||
| No/Don't know | 3739 (57.4) | 894 (51.3) | 2556 (59.2) | |
| Yes | 2774 (42.6) | 848 (48.7) | 1763 (40.8) | <0.001 |
| Knowledge of HIV acquisition† | ||||
| 3 correct | 4184 (64.4) | 1202 (69.3) | 2661 (61.8) | |
| 2 correct | 1959 (30.2) | 460 (26.5) | 1385 (32.2) | |
| 1 correct | 318 (4.9) | 64 (3.7) | 240 (5.6) | |
| 0 correct | 32 (0.5) | 9 (0.5) | 21 (0.5) | <0.001 |
| Knowledge of STI acquisition† | ||||
| 3 correct | 2227 (34.3) | 761 (43.8) | 1275 (29.6) | |
| 2 correct | 2656 (40.9) | 602 (34.7) | 1898 (44.1) | |
| 1 correct | 1393 (21.4) | 333 (19.2) | 969 (22.5) | |
| 0 correct | 219 (3.4) | 41 (2.4) | 165 (3.8) | <0.001 |
| Knowledge of pregnancy prevention† | ||||
| 3 correct | 4237 (65.2) | 1247 (71.7) | 2699 (62.7) | |
| 2 correct | 1702 (26.2) | 384 (22.1) | 1194 (27.7) | |
| 1 correct | 471 (7.3) | 99 (5.7) | 341 (7.9) | |
| 0 correct | 87 (1.3) | 10 (0.6) | 71 (1.7) | <0.001 |
| Attitude towards sexual health† | ||||
| 3 correct | 691 (10.6) | 231 (13.3) | 383 (8.9) | |
| 2 correct | 2178 (33.5) | 634 (36.4) | 1361 (31.6) | |
| 1 correct | 2515 (38.7) | 659 (37.9) | 1707 (39.6) | |
| 0 correct | 1119 (17.2) | 217 (12.4) | 859 (19.9) | <0.001 |
| All sexually active women (n=6061) | Sexually active, never-married women (n=1742) | Sexually active, ever-married (n=4319) | Age-adjusted p value* | |
| Reported sexual behaviour§ | ||||
| Lifetime number of pregnancies (n) | ||||
| 0 | 1171 (19.4) | 982 (56.4) | 189 (4.4) | |
| 1 | 1817 (30.1) | 571 (32.8) | 1246 (29.0) | |
| 2 | 1857 (30.8) | 162 (9.3) | 1695 (39.5) | |
| ≥3 | 1192 (19.7) | 27 (1.6) | 1165 (27.1) | <0.001 |
| Unplanned pregnancy | ||||
| No | 4477 (74.3) | 1208 (69.5) | 3269 (76.3) | |
| Yes | 1547 (25.7) | 531 (30.5) | 1016 (23.7) | <0.001 |
| Reported pregnant at primary school | ||||
| No | 5868 (96.8) | 1714 (98.4) | 4154 (96.2) | |
| Yes | 192 (3.2) | 28 (1.6) | 165 (3.8) | <0.001 |
| Lifetime number of partners (n) | ||||
| 1 | 1837 (30.4) | 750 (43.1) | 1087 (25.3) | |
| 2–4 | 3631 (60.1) | 851 (48.9) | 2780 (64.6) | |
| ≥5 | 575 (9.5) | 141 (8.1) | 434 (10.1) | <0.001 |
| Age at sexual debut (years) | ||||
| ≥16 | 4271 (70.7) | 1273 (73.3) | 2998 (69.7) | |
| <16 | 1768 (29.3) | 463 (26.7) | 1305 (30.3) | <0.001 |
| Had a casual partner in the past 12 months | ||||
| No | 5164 (85.4) | 1243 (71.4) | 3921 (91.1) | |
| Yes | 882 (14.6) | 497 (28.6) | 385 (8.9) | <0.001 |
| Had a regular partner in the past 12 months | ||||
| No | 836 (13.8) | 634 (36.4) | 202 (4.7) | |
| Yes | 5210 (86.2) | 1106 (63.6) | 4104 (95.3) | <0.001 |
| Ever used modern contraception to prevent pregnancy | ||||
| Yes¶ | 2932 (48.5) | 1138 (65.3) | 1794 (41.6) | |
| Condom | 2654 (90.5) | 1111 (97.6) | 1543 (86.0) | |
| Oral contraceptive pill | 224 (7.6) | 51 (4.5) | 173 (9.6) | |
| Injectable contraceptives | 505 (17.2) | 75 (6.6) | 430 (24.0) | |
| No | 3119 (51.5) | 604 (34.7) | 2515 (58.4) | <0.001 |
*Comparing the baseline characteristics in the never-married, sexually active women with the ever-married, sexually active women.
†Missing <10 values.
‡The Sukuma are the largest ethnic group in Tanzania, comprising 16% of the population, and they are the predominant group in north-western Tanzania.
§For all women the analysis was restricted to the 6061 women who were sexually active.
¶It was possible for women to report using multiple different types of contraceptives to prevent pregnancy; the percentage of each type of modern contraceptive are out of all those that reported using modern contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.
STI, sexually transmitted infection.