Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):e0265601. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265601. eCollection 2022.
In Ethiopia, more than four million children are anticipated to live under particularly difficult circumstances. Street children are subject to violence, a lack of health care, and a lack of education. Which denies them the right to live in a secure environment and exposes them to different health problems. Currently, little is known about the prevalence of Streetism, including health conditions. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the health status of street children and determinants of Streetism.
Mixed methods (sequential) were employed from February 1 to 28, 2021. Quantitative cross-sectional study design and phenomenological qualitative designs were applied. Overall, 220 street children were involved in the study. The most common reason that forced the children to resort to a street way of life is to look for a job and quarreled with parents. The data were collected using interviews methods. Chi-square test and multiple binary logistic regression were applied to examine the variations among variables with the health status of street children. Qualitative data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique.
The study included a total of 220 street children. As to the quantitative study, the majority of study participants (92.73%) drank alcohol regularly. Depression (39.22%) and peer pressure (43.14%) were the most common initiation causes of drinking alcohol. According to a qualitative study report, "Street children are mostly affected by the communicable disease" and… They are addicted to substances like benzene" which had a profound effect on their health." Furthermore, the study discovered a statistically significant association between respondents' health status and sociodemographic characteristics (age and educational status), job presence, and drug use.
This study identified the factors that drove street children to live on the streets, such as the inability to find work and disagreements with their parents. The majority of the street children were affected by preventable and treatable diseases. Unfortunately, almost all street children reported drinking alcohol, which exposed them to a variety of health problems. In general, the study discovered that street children require immediate attention. Decision-makers and academicians should collaborate to develop a plan for these children's health and social interventions.
在埃塞俄比亚，预计有超过 400 万儿童生活在特别困难的环境中。流浪儿童遭受暴力、缺乏医疗保健和教育。这使他们无法生活在安全的环境中，并使他们面临各种健康问题。目前，人们对流浪儿童的流行程度，包括健康状况，知之甚少。因此，本研究旨在评估流浪儿童的健康状况和流浪的决定因素。
2021 年 2 月 1 日至 28 日采用混合方法（顺序）。定量横断面研究设计和现象学定性设计被应用。共有 220 名流浪儿童参与了这项研究。迫使儿童走上流浪生活道路的最常见原因是寻找工作和与父母争吵。使用访谈方法收集数据。卡方检验和多二元逻辑回归用于检查儿童健康状况与变量之间的差异。定性数据采用主题分析技术进行分析。
本研究共纳入 220 名流浪儿童。在定量研究中，大多数研究参与者（92.73%）经常饮酒。抑郁（39.22%）和同伴压力（43.14%）是饮酒的最常见起始原因。根据一份定性研究报告，“流浪儿童大多受到传染病的影响”和……他们对苯等物质上瘾，这对他们的健康产生了深远的影响。”此外，该研究发现，受访者的健康状况与社会人口学特征（年龄和教育程度）、工作存在和药物使用之间存在统计学显著关联。
本研究确定了驱使流浪儿童流浪的因素，例如找不到工作和与父母意见不合。大多数流浪儿童受到可预防和可治疗疾病的影响。不幸的是，几乎所有流浪儿童都报告说饮酒，这使他们面临各种健康问题。总的来说，该研究发现流浪儿童需要立即关注。决策者和学者应合作制定这些儿童健康和社会干预计划。
