“… I tried to commit suicide…” - Research Article - Understanding the intersections between mental health, HIV and teenage pregnancy

Sep 29, 2026

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Background: Adolescent girls in South Africa face intersecting health pressures, including unplanned pregnancy and HIV infection, shaped by inequities in accessing adequate care and affecting mental health and overall well-being. This paper examines adolescents’ lived experiences when using health services in the Western Cape and links these experiences with mental health, HIV, and teenage pregnancy. Methods: Qualitative narrative and semi-structured interviews with 15–19-year-olds, healthcare providers, parents, and a focus group. Results and conclusion highlight barriers and opportunities for tailored mental health services.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

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OPEN ACCESS Citation: Tabana H, Satumba T, Cooper D, Lembani M (2026) “… I tried to commit suicide…”: Understanding the intersections between mental health, HIV and teenage pregnancy. PLoS One 21(1): e0323030. [https://](https://)[ ](https://)[doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323030](doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323030) Editor: Sogo France Matlala, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, SOUTH AFRICA Received: April 1, 2025 Accepted: December 15, 2025 Published: January 5, 2026 Copyright: © 2026 Tabana et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data availability statement: Data cannot be publicly shared due to ethical restrictions, as it contains potentially identifying and sensitive information about the participants. Data can be requested from the Biomedical Science Research Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape on: Director: Research RESEARCH ARTICLE “… I tried to commit suicide…”: Understanding the intersections between mental health, HIV and teenage pregnancy Hanani Tabana*, Takunda Satumba, Diane Cooper, Martina Lembani School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa * [htabana@uwc.ac.za](htabana@uwc.ac.za) Abstract Background Adolescent girls in South Africa face a range of interconnected health challenges, including high rates of unplanned pregnancy and HIV infection, which are compounded by systemic inequities in accessing sufficient health care. These vulnerabilities can significantly affect their mental health and overall well-being. This paper describes adolescent girls’ lived experiences when accessing health care services and how these experiences might be associated with mental health, HIV, and teenage pregnancy in the Western Cape province, South Africa. Methods This qualitative study employed narrative and semi-structured interviews to explore the sexual and reproductive health and mental health well-being of adolescent girls aged 15–19. Participants included adolescent girls in various categories: pregnant, postpartum, living with HIV/AIDS or not, recruited from three youth-friendly primary healthcare facilities using purposive and snowballing sampling methods. A total of 17 adolescents, four healthcare providers, and four parents were interviewed, and a focus group was held, involving six sub-district healthcare program managers. Results The factors contributing to mental health among the adolescents were broadly categorised under five themes: 1) Navigating the impact of unintended pregnancy, 2) Negotiating the home environment and other relationships, 3) Barriers around access to services at the facility level, 4) Community healthcare services, and 5) Improving mental health services. PLOS One | [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323030](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323030) January 5, 2026 1 / 19 Development University of the Western Cape Private Bag X 17 Bellville 7535 Republic of South Africa Tel: +27 21 959 4111 Email: [research-ethics@uwc.ac.za](research-ethics@uwc.ac.za). Funding: This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Numbers: 11682 & 82769) . The authors would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the South African Medical Research Council, through the Health Services to Systems Extra Mural Research Unit. There was no additional external funding received for this study. Funds received from funders were used to cover all expenses around data collection. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Any opinion, finding, conclusion, or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and not the funders. Competing inter

FAQs

What health challenges are examined in the study?

The study focuses on the intersection of mental health, HIV, and teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls in South Africa.

How was data collected in the qualitative study?

Researchers used narrative and semi-structured interviews with adolescents aged 15–19, plus interviews with healthcare providers and parents, and a focus group with sub-district healthcare program managers.

What key themes explain contributors to adolescents’ mental health?

Five themes are identified: unintended pregnancy impacts, home and relationship negotiations, facility-level access barriers, community healthcare services, and improving mental health services.

Sep 29, 2026

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