Karijo Evalin, Wamugi Sylvia, Lemanyishoe Samuel, Njuki Jenny, Boit Faith, Kibui Vania, Karanja Sarah, Abuya Timothy
Y-ACT, Youth in Action, Amref Health Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
Population Council, Nairobi, Kenya.
BMC Public Health. 2021 May 30;21(1):1020. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11067-2.
Cases of the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) in Kenya have continued to increase rapidly, since the first case in the country was confirmed in March 2020. In the wake of the pandemic, the health and socio-economic challenges experienced by the youth in Kenya are likely to be elevated. We assessed knowledge, practices, perceived risk of infection, adoption of recommended behaviour and the effects of COVID-19 among the youth in Kenya.
A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted between April 30th to May 7th, 2020 through a combined online survey and phone interviews. A total of 2156 youth across all 47 counties in Kenya completed the responses to the study questions. All survey responses analyzed using Stata version 15 were tabulated by gender, age, and education level to generate basic descriptive tables and tested for differences by category using chi-square tests. Where applicable, linear and logistic regression analysis model was conducted using covariates such as employment status, gender, and education level.
Knowledge on symptoms of COVID-19 was generally high. Female respondents were more likely to identify more symptoms correctly compared to men (p < 0.001). However, youth reported very low levels of anyone being at risk of infection (7.1%). Most youth have adopted behavior necessary to slow down the infection. There were generally very low reported levels of inability to access health services related to sexual and reproductive health. About 50.0% of respondents reported significant decline in income during the pandemic period, nearly a third reported living in fear while 26.5% reported feeling stressed.
There was high knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, preventive strategies, and high adoption of preventive practices. Strategies to sustain behaviors positively adopted among young people will be critical to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Despite the low reported rates of inability to access sexual and reproductive health, response measures should include strategies that facilitate continuity of services among young people. The reported social effects of the pandemic show the need for interventions to meet the health and socio-economic needs of the youth and minimize the long-term consequences of the pandemic.
自2020年3月肯尼亚确诊首例新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）病例以来，该国的病例数持续快速增加。在这场大流行之后，肯尼亚青年所面临的健康和社会经济挑战可能会加剧。我们评估了肯尼亚青年对COVID-19的认知、行为、感知感染风险、对推荐行为的采纳情况以及COVID-19的影响。
2020年4月30日至5月7日，通过在线调查和电话访谈相结合的方式进行了一项横断面描述性研究。肯尼亚47个县的2156名青年完成了对研究问题的回答。使用Stata 15版本对所有调查回复进行分析，并按性别、年龄和教育水平进行列表，以生成基本描述性表格，并使用卡方检验按类别检验差异。在适用的情况下，使用就业状况、性别和教育水平等协变量进行线性和逻辑回归分析模型。
对COVID-19症状的认知普遍较高。与男性相比，女性受访者更有可能正确识别更多症状（p<0.001）。然而，青年报告称感染风险人群的比例非常低（7.1%）。大多数青年采取了减缓感染所需的行为。报告称无法获得与性健康和生殖健康相关的医疗服务的水平普遍很低。约50.0%的受访者报告在大流行期间收入大幅下降，近三分之一的受访者报告生活在恐惧中，26.5%的受访者报告感到压力。
对COVID-19症状、预防策略的认知较高，且预防措施的采纳率也较高。维持年轻人积极采纳的行为的策略对于减少COVID-19的传播至关重要。尽管报告称无法获得性健康和生殖健康服务的比例较低，但应对措施应包括促进年轻人服务连续性的策略。报告的大流行的社会影响表明，需要采取干预措施来满足青年和社会经济需求，并尽量减少大流行的长期后果。
