The Continued Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education and Mental Health Among Sub-Saharan African Adolescents

Dongqing Wang; Olufemi A Adedokun; Ourohiré Millogo; Isabel Madzorera; Elena C Hemler; Firehiwot Workneh; Frank Mapendo; Bruno Lankoande; Abbas Ismail; Angela Chukwu; Nega Assefa; Sulemana Watara Abubakari; Isaac Lyatuu; Daniel Okpara; Yasir Y Abdullahi; Pascal Zabre; Said Vuai; Abdramane Bassiahi Soura; Emily R Smith; Ali Sie; Ayoade M J Oduola; Japhet Killewo; Yemane Berhane; Till Baernighausen; Kwaku Poku Asante; Tajudeen Raji; Mary Mwanyika-Sando; Wafaie W Fawzi

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.012

The Continued Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education and Mental Health Among Sub-Saharan African Adolescents

J Adolesc Health. 2023 Apr;72(4):535-543. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.012. Epub 2022 Nov 28.

Authors

Dongqing Wang¹, Olufemi A Adedokun², Ourohiré Millogo³, Isabel Madzorera⁴, Elena C Hemler⁴, Firehiwot Workneh⁵, Frank Mapendo⁶, Bruno Lankoande⁷, Abbas Ismail⁸, Angela Chukwu⁹, Nega Assefa¹⁰, Sulemana Watara Abubakari¹¹, Isaac Lyatuu⁶, Daniel Okpara², Yasir Y Abdullahi¹², Pascal Zabre³, Said Vuai⁸, Abdramane Bassiahi Soura⁷, Emily R Smith¹³, Ali Sie³, Ayoade M J Oduola², Japhet Killewo¹⁴, Yemane Berhane⁵, Till Baernighausen¹⁵, Kwaku Poku Asante¹¹, Tajudeen Raji¹⁶, Mary Mwanyika-Sando⁶, Wafaie W Fawzi¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Global and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Electronic address: dwang25@gmu.edu.
² University of Ibadan Research Foundation, Ibadan, Nigeria.
³ Nouna Health Research Center, Nouna, Burkina Faso.
⁴ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.
⁵ Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁶ Africa Academy for Public Health, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁷ Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population, University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
⁸ College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania.
⁹ Department of Statistics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
¹⁰ College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
¹¹ Kintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo, Ghana.
¹² Harari Regional Health Bureau, Harar, Ethiopia.
¹³ Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.; Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
¹⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
¹⁵ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts; Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
¹⁶ Division of Public Health Institutes and Research, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
¹⁷ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: mina@hsph.harvard.edu.

Abstract

Purpose: This multicountry survey assessed the levels and the determinants of the impacts of the pandemic on education and mental health among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential factors that may exacerbate these adverse impacts.

Methods: A phone survey was conducted among adolescents in nine diverse areas in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania between July and December 2021. Approximately 300 adolescents per area and 2,803 adolescents in total were included. The survey collected information on adolescents' sociodemographic characteristics, current COVID-19 preventive measures, and the impacts of the pandemic on daily activities, education, and mental health. Log-binomial models were used to calculate the adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for determinants of education and mental health outcomes.

Results: Overall, 17% of the adolescents were not receiving any education. Compared to boys, girls were 15% more likely than boys to lack fully in-person education (aPR: 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02, 1.30). Rural residence was associated with 2.7 times the prevalence of not currently receiving any education (aPR: 2.68; 95% CI: 2.23, 3.22). Self-reported experience of the current impacts of the pandemic on daily activities was associated with a higher prevalence of possible psychological distress (aPR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.55, 2.24), high anxiety level (aPR: 3.37; 95% CI: 2.25, 5.06), and high depression level (aPR: 3.01; 95% CI: 2.05, 4.41).

Discussion: The COVID-19 pandemic presents continued challenges to adolescents' education and mental health. Multisectoral efforts are needed to ensure that adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa do not fall further behind due to the pandemic.

Keywords: Adolescents; COVID-19; Education; Mental health; Sub-Saharan Africa; Telephone surveys.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
COVID-19*
Educational Status
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Health*
Pandemics
Tanzania