Associations of Sustainable Development Goals Accelerators With Adolescents' Well-Being According to Head-of-Household's Disability Status-A Cross-Sectional Study From Zambia

• Published in: International journal of public health 2022-02, Vol.67, p.1604341
• Main Authors: Chipanta, David, Estill, Janne, Stöckl, Heidi, Hertzog, Lucas, Toska, Elona, Chanda, Patrick, Mwanza, Jason, Kaila, Kelly, Matome, Chisangu, Tembo, Gelson, Keiser, Olivia, Cluver, Lucie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accelerators; Adolescent; Adolescent Health; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; good health; Humans; informal cash transfers; no poverty; Poverty; Public Health Archive; social cash transfers; Sustainable Development; sustainable development goals; Young Adult; Zambia
• ISSN: 1661-8564; 1661-8556; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604341

We examined associations between accelerators (interventions impacting ≥2 SDG targets) and SDG-aligned well-being indicators among adolescents 16-24 years old in Zambia. We surveyed adults from 1,800 randomly sampled households receiving social cash transfers. We examined associations between accelerators (social cash transfers, life-long learning, mobile phone access) and seven well-being indicators among adolescents using multivariate logistic regressions. The sample comprised 1,725 adolescents, 881 (51.1%) girls. Mobile phone access was associated with no poverty (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 2.08, < 0.001), informal cash transfers (aOR 1.82, = 0.004), and seeking mental health support (aOR 1.61, = 0.020). Social cash transfers were associated with no disability-related health restrictions (aOR 2.56, = 0.004) and lesser odds of seeking mental health support (aOR 0.53, = 0.029). Life-long learning was associated with informal cash transfers (aOR 3.49, < 0.001) and lower school enrollment (aOR 0.70, = 0.004). Adolescents with disabled head-of-household reported worse poverty, good health but less suicidal ideation. Social cash transfers, life-long learning, and mobile phone access were positively associated with well-being indicators. Adolescents living with disabled head-of-household benefited less. Governments should implement policies to correct disability-related inequalities.