Prevalence and Factors Associated with Substance Use among Street Children in Jimma Town, Oromiya National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Street children constitute a marginalized population in most urban centers of the world. According to UN sources there are up to 150 million street children in the world today. World Health Organization estimates that globally, 25- 90% of street children indulge in substance use. Research on street children and their substance use habits in Ethiopia, specifically in Jimma has been limited. Objectives: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with substance use among street children in Jimma town, Ethiopia Methods: Cross sectional study was undertaken from March 1-31, 2019. Since children of the street with age of 12-18 were small in number, complete enumeration was done and we had got 312 children of the street. Bivariate logistic regression was carried out to select candidate for multivariable logistic regression analysis with p-value <0.25 at 95% confidence. Multi variable logistic regression were carried out with those candidate variables using backward method and association was declared with p value of <0.05 at 95% confidence level. Result: Three hundred twelve street children with response rate of 96.2% were included in the study. The life time prevalence of substance use was 122(39.1%) with 95% CI [33.0-45.2]. The current prevalence of substance use was 96(30.8%) with 95% CI [25-36.2]. Age>14 [AOR: 1.97 95%CI:1.00-3.889], attending grade 1-4 [AOR: 0.33 95%CI:0.151-0.737], attending grade 5 and above [AOR: 0.27 CI:0.093-0.756], child whose mother use substance [AOR: 7.78 95%CI:3.00- 20.11], child didn’t know his maternal substance use status [AOR:5.1 95%CI: 2.19-11.81], child whose sibling use substance [AOR: 2.23 95%CI:1.254-5.63], best friend substance use[AOR: 11.01 95%CI:5.47-25.04] and staying 12-60 months on the street [AOR:3.00 95%CI:1.511-5.96] and staying >5 years on the street [AOR:4.6 95%CI:1.06-19.7] were significantly associated with substance use. Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of substance use among street children in Jimma town was high. Mother and siblings have crucial role in determining substance use behavior of the children. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations working on children of the street should do intervention on Parents and friends since they are role models for the street children. Researchers should do more researches on these neglected groups of children