Journal Publishes Paper by College of Public Health Student
| Ajoke Adebisi-Ogedegbe, a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, led a women’s health study recently published by the African Journal of Reproductive Health.
Adebisi-Ogedegbe, who’s in the college’s Health Promotion and Prevention Research Program, spearheaded the research project, “Two Decades of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Nigeria: Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities.” Adebisi-Ogedegbe, a native of Nigeria, used Nigerian DHS data sets spanning 2003-2018 for the study, which advocates for the well-being of women and girls in the African nation.
“Women are vital to society,” she said. “We bring life into the world. If women and children are healthy, that typically leads to healthier families, a healthier society.”
The project noted that maternal health, data gaps, societal conflicts, poverty and climate change factor into Nigeria’s deficiencies regarding women’s health.
The study also identified eight key sexual and reproductive health indicators. Those indicators are contraceptive prevalence, skilled assistance during delivery, age of first sex, teenage childbearing, the prevalence of sexual violence, the prevalence of harmful cultural practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage, HIV incidence, and the prevalence of premarital sex among young women.
The research noted that Nigeria would benefit from reducing its reliance on foreign aid, instead enhancing its use of local initiatives to address maternal health. Additionally, Nigeria could benefit from an increased, well-equipped health care workforce.
Data also suggests that strategic interventions, with multifaceted approaches, are crucial to solving the issues. Though Nigeria has made strides to remedy the situation, there remains room for improvement, according to Adebisi-Ogedegbe.
“I’d love to see increased efforts to address maternal mortality rates in the nation,” she said.
She concluded that harmful cultural beliefs and practices remain a concern, especially in rural areas. Additionally, stigma, fear, shame and judgmental behaviors make reproductive health services in the country unwelcoming.
Adebisi-Ogedegbe said she was elated when her study was published, especially since this was her first published research paper.
“I get excited about it when I consider how it can inspire early career research scientists,” Adebisi-Ogedegbe said. “They see I’ve had a paper published, and they know that they too can get a paper published.
“This was all a learning process. The process strengthened my ability to conduct research. It took a lot of time and effort to write that research paper. It’s fulfilling to know that my work is published and will inform people and provide information that will help society.”