did for fun, what media they watched or read, and how they earned money. An assessment was 

also conducted to locate the schools and private and government health care facilities in the 

neighborhood. 

Focus group discussions were conducted with in school and out of school adolescents as 

well as with peer educators at the schools that the case study participants attended. These groups 

served several purposes: they assisted in the recruitment of additional schoolgirls who had 

experienced unintended pregnancy to participate in the study, they gathered additional 

information on adolescents' knowledge of reproductive health, and they learned more about what 

adolescents do for fun.  

Information on the schools the girls attended and the facilities where they obtained their 

health care, including abortions, was gleaned from the interviews conducted with the girls. 

2.3 

Teachers and School Personnel 

Twelve teachers, administrators, and school health personnel  who served the girls 

participating in the study were interviewed. These interviews were held during the second and 

third phases of the study in five neighborhood junior and senior secondary schools. The school 

employees were also interviewed on school policy regarding premarital sex and student 

pregnancy, and on what students are taught in the school's curriculum about reproductive health. 

Members of the research team attended sex education classes, which included information about 

abortion, for each grade level in which this subject is taught. 

Health care providers, school personnel, and others who communicated with the girls 

participating in the study were prioritized for interview. Other providers, school personnel, and 

community members were added to fill out the sample as needed. 

2.4 

Health Care Providers 

Eleven health care providers who serve the Ga Mashi Town community were 

interviewed. These included both biomedical providers (government and private clinicians and 

hospital staff) and nonbiomedical providers (pharmacists, peer promoters, abortionists, 

herbalists, and others) from four facilities in the area and the market. They were interviewed 

about their experiences serving unmarried adolescent girls and their policies and/or practices 

regarding abortion and postabortion care.  

All the interviews were tape recorded and translated into English. The interview guides 

were generated according to the objectives outlined above.  

2.5 Informed 

Consent 

All the participants in the study consented to be interviewed, either orally with the 

investigators' signatures, or in writing. Oral consent for participation was obtained once the 

groups had convened and before the discussion. Girls considering joining the study were read a 

consent form and then asked if they would like to join the study, and oral consent was obtained. 

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