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Article History

Received: 27 August 2024

Accepted: 5 June 2025

First Online: 2 July 2025

Declarations

:

: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from Makerere University School of Public Health Research and Ethics Committee (SPH-812), Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (HS1087ES), and University of California San Francisco Institutional Review Board (UCSF #21-33997). Administrative clearance from the two study districts was obtained prior to data collection. Written informed consent to participate in the study was obtained from all participants, and their confidentiality was ensured by using unique identification numbers during data storage and analysis and removing any directly identifying information. Adolescents who were married or living with a partner and those who had at least one child were considered emancipated and therefore consented on their own. This is stipulated in the National guidelines for research involving humans as research participants by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, Sect. 5.8, which define emancipated minors as “individuals below the age of majority who are pregnant, married, have a child or cater for their own livelihood” and indicates that these “emancipated minors may independently provide informed consent to participate in research [ ]. All methods were implemented according to relevant guidelines and regulations.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.