Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53435. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053435. Epub 2013 Jan 9.
This mixed-methods study examined barriers to and facilitators of street children's drug use cessation in Eldoret, Kenya utilizing a cross-sectional survey and focus group discussions with a community-based sample of street-involved children and youth. The primary objective of this study was to describe factors that may assist or impede cessation of drug use that can be utilized in developing substance use interventions for this marginalized population. In 2011, 146 children and youth ages 10-19 years, classified as either children on the street or children of the street were recruited to participate in the cross-sectional survey. Of the 146 children that participated in the survey 40 were invited to participate in focus group discussion; 30 returned voluntarily to participate in the discussions. Several themes were derived from children's narratives that described the barriers to and facilitators of drug cessation. Specifically, our findings reveal the strength of the addiction to inhalants, the dual role that peers and family play in substance use, and how the social, cultural, and economic context influence or impede cessation. Our findings demonstrate the need to integrate community, family and peers into any intervention in addition to traditional medical and psychological models for treatment of substance use dependence.
本混合方法研究利用横断面调查和焦点小组讨论，以肯尼亚埃尔多雷特的社区为基础的街头儿童和青少年样本，考察了街头儿童吸毒戒除的障碍和促进因素。本研究的主要目的是描述可能有助于或阻碍该边缘化人群戒除吸毒的因素，以便为该人群开发药物使用干预措施。2011 年，招募了 146 名 10-19 岁的儿童和青少年，分为街头儿童或街头儿童，参与横断面调查。在参加调查的 146 名儿童中，有 40 名受邀参加焦点小组讨论；有 30 名自愿返回参加讨论。从儿童的叙述中得出了几个主题，描述了吸毒戒除的障碍和促进因素。具体而言，我们的研究结果揭示了对吸入剂成瘾的强烈程度、同伴和家庭在物质使用中双重作用，以及社会、文化和经济背景如何影响或阻碍戒除。我们的研究结果表明，需要将社区、家庭和同伴纳入任何干预措施中，除了传统的医疗和心理模式来治疗物质使用依赖。
