Prevention of teenage pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic review based on scientific literature

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the scientific production related to the prevention of pregnancy in adolescents, specifically in Latin American and Caribbean populations. METHODS: Thirty-four scientific articles from the consulted databases were analyzed: Scopus, EBSCOhost, SciELO and Science Direct. RESULTS: The results show greater dissemination of the topic in countries such as Cuba, Brazil and Mexico, with the majority of these being descriptive studies or characterization of the adolescent population. 78.1% of the studies were developed in the educational context. CONCLUSION: There is evidence of a scarcity of scientific production in Latin America, particularly in studies on preventive interventions for early pregnancy. Furthermore, most of the publications were based on increasing knowledge regarding contraceptive methods and information related to them. These are undoubtedly very important, but unfortunately they are not sufficiently effective in influencing healthy and responsible behavior in the sexual life of the young population.