Reviewer’ s report
Title: Patterns, trends, and factors associated with contraceptive use among adolescent girls in
Zambia (1996 to 2014): A multilevel analysis
Version: 0Date: 27 Sep 2019
Reviewer: Bwalya Bupe Bwalya
Reviewer's report:
Dear Authors,This is a very good article you worked on and looking at the current trends in teen pregnancies in
Zambia it would not have come at an appropriate time.
However, having said that, I have a few concerns that may require your attention:1. Abstract2. Methods Section
It would be great to include a variable on wealth index, currently working and sources ofcontraception as part of the explanatory variables.
I would suggest you recoded the variable on marital status into three (3) responses 1. Never
Married 2. Married or LTWP & 3. Widowed/Separated/NLLT. If authors check the counts/frequencies for LT, Widowed, Separated & NLLT these may not be good for multilevel logistic
regression analysis. See track changes comment
The variable is Current Marital Status and not just Marital Status kindly changeIn addition, there are alot of variables that the authors may have considered such as source of these
contraception & distance to health facility among other things.
Though authors wrote that they will also consider year when the ZDHS was conducted as part of
the explanatory variable if you check under the results section, results are just presented per yearand not as purported under methodology.
As much as the Sample sizes for all the four ZDHSs are large enough; it will be good to test for
multicollinearity among the explanatory variables just to see if there are nay variables which arepresenting with such a case.
DHS usually have the weights calculated in there data sets. Its important to mention to the would
be readers whether the data was weighted or not. This is important, as this was a multistagesampling design.
Ensure that the results for logistic regression appears as AOR and not OR as stated under this
section.
3. ResultsZDHS recommends that all count less than 25 unweighted cases you put an asterisk * and be
suppressed and should be put as a footnote under the table. SEE TABLE 1 and frequencies onCurrent Marital Status among others.
Under table one move IV knowledge of Any Method to just after contraceptive use
Table 3: Ensure that Ref is put as a super script on 15 years and under AOR you put 1.000 and
ensure you do the same for each reference category. SEE COMMENT in the main document.
In the same table kindly keep your decimal places to 3 and ensure you are consistent throughout.Any reason as to why Knowledge on Any Method was dropped for the multilevel logistic
regression
4. DiscussionYou need to be consistent in the way you refer (in-text) either you use numbers or name and year
for the authors. However, most of my comments are in the main documents
It would make sense to have the limitation of the study moved to the methods section after
statistical analysis paragraph or after conclusions.
5. Conclusion
Although some of the points raised under the recommendations are good, they are general
statements with no specific institutions targeted to take up responsibilities. For me, i wouldsuggest you come up with policy implications instead of recommendations.
I also recommend that you find a native English speaker to read your document.All the best.
Are the methods appropriate and well described?
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.
YesDoes the work include the necessary controls?
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.
YesAre you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an
additional statistical review?
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further
assessment in your comments to the editors.
I am able to assess the statisticsQuality of written English
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:
Needs some language corrections before being publishedDeclaration of competing interests
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