Child Marriage in South Asia: A Systematic Review

Background: Child marriage is a serious public health issue with dire implications at the individual and societal level. Almost half of all child marriages globally originate from South Asia. The aim of this study is to identify consistent factors associated with and resulting from child marriage in South Asia through a review of available evidence. Methods: This systematic review adhered to the 2015 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Six computerized bibliographic databases, namely PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Ovid Medline, PUBMED, and Scopus were searched. Retrieved studies were exported to EndNote and screened for eligibility using pre-determined criteria. The quality of the included studies was rated using 14 quality appraisal criteria derived from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tool. Results: A total of 520 articles were retrieved from six databases. Of these, 13 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in this study. Factors consistently associated with child marriage in South Asia were rural residence, low level of education, poor economic background, low exposure to mass media and religion (Hindu and Muslim in particular countries). Maternal health care factors resulting from child marriage included: low utilization of antenatal care services, low institutional delivery, and low delivery assistance by a skilled birth attendant. Conclusions: Child marriage results from an interplay of economic and social forces. Therefore, to address the complex nature of child marriage, efforts targeting improvement in education, employment, exposure to health information via mass media, and gender egalitarianism are required. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42020190410].