12-month substance use disorders among first-year university students in Kenya.

OBJECTIVES: The period of entry into university represents one of vulnerability to substance use for university students. The goal of this study is to document the 12-month prevalence of substance use disorders among first year university students in Kenya, and to test whether there is an association between substance use disorders and mental disorders. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2019 and 2020 as part of the World Health Organization's World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) survey initiative. A total of 334 university students completed the survey. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic characteristics of the participants. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between substance use disorder and mental disorders after adjusting for age and gender. RESULTS: The 12-month prevalence for alcohol use disorder was 3.3%, while the 12-month prevalence for other substance use disorder was 6.9%. Adjusting for age and gender, there was an association between any substance use disorder and major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar 1 disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, social anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and non-suicidal self-injury. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the need to institute policies and interventions in universities in Kenya that address substance use disorders and comorbid mental disorders among first-year students.

Student peer mentoring: Feasibility and acceptability of mHealth-based tool for alcohol and substance abuse prevention by peer mentors at a university in Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: The use of mobile health (mHealth)-based interventions for the prevention of alcohol and other psychoactive substances use is an emerging practice for which new evidence is required. This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth-based peer mentoring tool for early screening, brief intervention, and referral of students who abuse alcohol and other psychoactive substances. It compared the implementation of a mHealth-delivered intervention to the paper-based practice that is the standard at the University of Nairobi. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study using purposive sampling was used to select a cohort of n = 100 (51 experimental, 49 control) first-year student peer mentors on two campuses of the University of Nairobi in Kenya. Data were collected on the mentors' sociodemographic characteristics as well as the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions by way of, the magnitude of reach, feedback to investigators, referral of cases, and perceived ease of use. RESULTS: The mHealth-based peer mentoring tool scored high with 100% of users rating it as feasible and acceptable. Among the two study cohorts, there were no differences in the acceptability of the peer mentoring intervention. When comparing the feasibility of the peer mentoring practice, actual use of the interventions, and intervention reach, the mHealth-based cohort mentored four mentees for every one mentored by the standard practice cohort. CONCLUSION: The mHealth-based peer mentoring tool had high feasibility and acceptability among student peer mentors. The intervention provided evidence for the need to expand the availability of screening services for alcohol and other psychoactive substances use among students in the university and promote the appropriate management practices within and outside the university.

Alcohol and substance use among first-year students at the University of Nairobi, Kenya: Prevalence and patterns.

OBJECTIVE: Increase in alcohol and substance use among college students is a global public health concern. It is associated with the risk of alcohol and substance use disorders to the individual concerned and public health problems to their family and society. Among students there is also the risk of poor academic performance, taking longer to complete their studies or dropping out of university. This study determined the prevalence and patterns of alcohol and substance use of students at the entry to the university. METHOD: A total of 406 (50.7% male) students were interviewed using the Assessment of Smoking and Substance Involvement Test (ASSIST) and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Tool (AUDIT). Bivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between substance use and students' socio-demographic characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the predictors of the lifetime and current alcohol and substance use. RESULTS: Lifetime and current alcohol and substance use prevalence were 103 (25%) and 83 (20%) respectively. Currently frequently used substances were alcohol 69 (22%), cannabis 33 (8%) and tobacco 28 (7%). Poly-substance use was reported by 48 (13%) respondents, the main combinations being cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol. Students living in private hostels were four times more likely to be current substance users compared with those living on campus (OR = 4.7, 95% CI: 2.0, 10.9). CONCLUSION: A quarter of the study respondents consumed alcohol and/or substances at the entry to university pushing the case for early intervention strategies to delay initiation of alcohol and substance use and to reduce the associated harmful consequences.