transversal study

transversal study

1. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Substance Use Practices Among Street Children in Western Kenya

   • The study describes the knowledge of and attitudes toward substance use among street-involved youth in Kenya, and how they relate to their substance use practices. In 2011,
   • Introduction
     • Children in resource-constrained settings succumb to street life due to abject poverty, child abuse, neglect, familial dysfunction, death of one or both of the parents, war, sociocultural and religious beliefs, among other reasons
       • two categories
         • Children on the street spend a portion of their time on the street, either roaming or working to provide an economic contribution to their family. These children often return home at night to sleep, maintaining familial ties.
         • Children of the street both work and sleep on the streets and have an absence of regular contact with family members
   • METHODOLOGY
     • Study Setting
       • 51.3% of the population in Uasin Gishu County live below the Kenya poverty line, and approximately 52% of the population are below the age of 20
     • Study Population
       • The displacement of many families as a result of the loss of property, thus leaving them destitute, many children living in settlements became involved in the street
     • Eligibility
       • Children and young people between 10-19 years classified
         • (a) spend part or most of their time in street work or roaming when returning to sleep with family or a night watchman (child on the street)
         • (b) they have little or no contact with the family and spend two days and nights living and sleeping on the street or in a shelter (street children)
     • Recruitment and Enrolment
       • Extensive street outreach and study sensitization occurred in the “bases/barracks” (primary locations in which street children reside), social worker experienced in working with this population was engaged in making the disclosure and providing information about the study.
         • The purpose of the study was explained and the children were invited to participate voluntarily in the research. We also identified children and youth eligible and recruited through their peers, sampling the snowball until the necessary sample size calculated (N = 146)
     • Protection of Human Subjects
       • he obtained a consent from his individual tutor, the study was a minimal risk, the study could not have been carried out in a practical way without the consent, the consent did not negatively alter the risk-benefit relationship for the participants. Individual written consent was obtained from each participant. consent was obtained by a social worker trained in accepting vulnerable populations (especially children)
     • Data Collection
       • A cross-sectional survey was designed within the knowledge, attitudes and model of practices, with a particular theme in order to inform about the development of the program and interventions that are contextual and culturally appropriate. Face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire composed of 78 questions. The answers and interview data were recorded in English in the questionnaire by the research assistant. The questionnaire was subsequently modified to determine additional in-depth information regarding the substance use practices and demographic data of the participants
     • Study Outcomes and Variables
       • The primary outcomes of interest were (1) having any life drug use versus never having drugs used and 2) currently using drugs (used in the last month) versus never having used and / or not currently being used. Drug use variables include any lifetime use (even once), current drug use (defined as any substance use during the past month), frequency of drug use (daily / weekly or less)
     • Statistical Analysis
       • Data were entered into Epi Info (3.5.1) from paper-based surveys and subsequently imported into SAS (version 9.0, Institute Inc, Cary, NC, USA) for analysis. Bivariate analysis using χ2 or Fisher’s Exact Test
   • Results
     • There were 151 street-involved children and youth recruited; five were ineligible to participate in the study. There were therefore 146 children and youth aged 10–19 classified as either children on the street or children of the street enrolled to participate. Among these, 98 (67%) were classified as children of the street and 48 (33%) as children on the street.
       • Sociodemographic Characteristics
         • the detailed sociodemographic characteristics of all the participants, classification of the child in street situation and sex are described. men represented the majority of subjects in both categories (street: 85% and street: 65%). The average age of the population was 14 years. None of the participants had gone to secondary school. Approximately 65% ​​of young people were in contact with their family. Most participants (79%) indicated that someone in their family uses alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Almost all participants indicated that they perform activities or work for money. , with the exception of girls on the street, in which only 53% reported participation in income generation activities.
       • Substance Use Knowledge and Attitudes
         • Only 29% (n = 42) of the study subjects had never been taught the dangers of drug use, and 61% did not agree that they were well informed about drug use, despite the lack of education they were aware of the harms of drug use. They reported learning about friends' drugs followed by parents and guardians, and regarding the vulnerability of a family bond diminished the concern towards consumption.
       • Substance Use Practices
         • the prevalence of use in life and the current substance: 74% (n = 108) of the participants had any use of drugs throughout their lives, with 83% (n = 81) of the street children after having used some time compared to only 56% (n = 27) of children on the street. A total of 38 subjects reported never using drugs, of which 63% (n = 24) indicated that they had never used it because they believed that the drugs were bad for their health, 21% (n = 8) said that the family and friends had told them drugs were bad, 16% (n = 6) had other reasons.
   • CONCLUSION
     • In general, these results have important implications for the development of interventions for street children and young people in other settings with limited resources. These results demonstrate the urgent need to develop effective and innovative interventions for street children to mitigate the harmful effects of long-term drug use and life on the street. Generating any intervention and rehabilitation strategy developed needs to address the broader socioeconomic problems, as well as the cultural and community contexts in which these children find themselves struggling to survive.

2. designed to measure the prevalence of an exposure and / or result in a defined population and at a specific point of time.