Alcohol and substance abuse risk among students at the Kenya Medical Training College

BackgroundDue to media reports of several deaths, consumption of unrecorded alcohol (i.e., alcohol brewed at home) has emerged as a public health threat in developing countries like Kenya. Empirical data on this issue, however, is scarce. This investigation compared demographic characteristics of Kenyans who drank recorded (regulated) and unrecorded alcohol.MethodsWe examined all respondents who consumed alcohol in the past month (N = 718) on the 2015 nationally representative Kenya STEPwise survey. Descriptive statistics and bivariate logistic regression examined proportion of respondents consuming unrecorded alcohol, and social demographic factors associated with unrecorded alcohol consumption, respectively.ResultsThe sample was primarily male (86%), married (64%), middle class or higher (64%), with an average age of 37 years. Participants reported an average of 2.5 drinking events and 4.3 binge-drinking occasions per month. Overall, 37% of our sample consumed unrecorded alcohol. Compared to those with incomplete primary education or lower, individuals who completed primary education or above were less likely to report consuming unrecorded alcohol (OR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.12–0.43). Compared to poorest and poor respondents, those identifying as middle class or above were less likely to consume unrecorded alcohol (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.29–.78). Current smokers (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.34–3.60) and those with higher binge drinking occasions in the past month (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.004–1.07) were significantly more likely to consume unrecorded alcohol.ConclusionKenyan adults who consume unrecorded alcohol engage in more binge drinking occasions, smoke, and have lower levels of education and socioeconomic status. It is vital that health promotion interventions aimed at reducing unrecorded alcohol consumption be tailored and targeted to individuals with low socio-economic status in Kenya.

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Examining characteristics of recorded and unrecorded alcohol consumers in Kenya

Mkuu

Barry

Ishino

et al. 2018

BMC Public Health

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Influence of Peer Domain Factors onSubstance Use among Female Students at the Nairobi and Thika Campuses of KMTC

Ouma

2021

IJASRE

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World drug report indicates growing accessibility to substances as a major world trend among ages 15 to 65 years. Globally, the use of substances by college students of all genders is a challenge and a public health concern. However, many studies on substance use focus on male students. This study had the purpose of assessing the influence of peer domain factors on substance use among female students at Thika and Nairobi campuses of Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). The study adopted the ecological systems theory. Explanatory sequential mixed methods design (two-phase model) was used to collect quantitative data from participants on the subject; this was followed by the collection of qualitative data through an interview guide to get in-depth insight to help in explaining and elaborating the information gathered from the survey. The study population was 2474 female students. The study used stratified random sampling to select a sample of 344 respondents. Data from female students were gathered using semi-structured questionnaires and an interview guide. The data from the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency distributions, means, and percentages). Additionally, inferential statistics, correlation, and regression analysis were used to test the relationships between the study variables, while data from interviews were subjected to thematic analysis. The emergent findings were used to reinforce the findings from questionnaires. The study results show that that peer domain factors had a significant negative influence on substance use among the female students at KMTC (β= 0.787; p = 0.000). In this regard, the similarity between peers is critical in influencing behavior. Therefore, having peers who do not use substances and having peers who disapprove of substance use is expected to lead to protecting female students from engaging in substance use. The study recommends that KMTC need to implement extensive substance prevention programs targeting female students to reduce risk factors associated with substance use. The preventive programs include guidance and counseling, peer counseling and mentorship programs and, advocacy campaigns. The interviews added that there was a need to establish and finance advocacy programs backed by social media to enhance the dissemination of information on the negative influence of substance use.

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Alcohol and substance abuse risk among students at the Kenya Medical Training College

Cited by 2 publications

References 13 publications

Examining characteristics of recorded and unrecorded alcohol consumers in Kenya

Examining characteristics of recorded and unrecorded alcohol consumers in Kenya

Influence of Peer Domain Factors onSubstance Use among Female Students at the Nairobi and Thika Campuses of KMTC

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