Browsing by Author "Chepchieng, Micah"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Accessibility Of Substances, Accommodation Status & Extracurricular Activities' Influence On Undergraduates In Kenya
    (African Journal of Health Sciences, 2019-06) Ngure, J; Chepchieng, Micah; Ngure, Peter Kamau; Omulema, B
    Institutional factors such as; Accessibility of Substances, Accommodation status, Extracurricular activities etc., had the capacity to influence and modify a student's behaviour by exposing or protecting them from substance use. The purpose of this study was to find out, to what extent these factors influence some undergraduate students into substance use in Kenya.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Learners in Primary and Secondary Schools in Kenya
    (Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, 2023-04-01) Mbutitia, Francisca; Mburugu, Beatrice; Chepchieng, Micah; Kung’u, Lucy; Ngure, Peter Kamau; Raburu, Pamela; Kangethe, Mary; Maina, Grace Ngugi; Avisa, Hellen
    Aims: To assess the effect of COVID -19 on mental health of the learners in primary and secondary schools of Kenya. Study Design: The study adopted a cross-sectional research design where 96.5% of the respondents of the study were between the age of 6- 18 years. Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in Kenya and it involved five counties namely Nairobi, Mombasa, Kajiado, Migori and Elgeyo Marakwet primary, secondary and special schools. The study was conducted between October 2021 and July, 2022. Methodology: In the five selected counties 12 schools were selected in each county where different sub-counties were considered. A 31 item paper questionnaire for learners on mental health was administered to assess levels for anxiety with ten(10) items, depression had eleven(11) items and and post-traumatic stress disorder had ten (10) items. The learners responded to a 3 point Likert scale of; “Not at all”(1) “Sometimes”(2) and “All the Time”(3) The scores were tabulated as follows: Anxiety; Normal 10 – 15, Mild 16 -20, Moderate 21- 25 and Severe 25 and above, Depression; Normal 11 – 18, Mild 19 -26, Moderate 27- 31 Severe 32 and above and finally Scores for PTSD; Normal 9 – 14, Mild 15 -19, Moderate 20- 24, Severe 25 and aboveNormal (1), Mild (2), Moderate (3) and Severe (4) though some items were reverse scored if the statement was negatively phrased. All the learners who scored an average of moderate to severe in this tool were identified as vulnerable and predisposed to risks of mental illness and therefore recommended for mental health interventions. Results: The study established that 25.7% of the learners reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety, 27.9% of the learners reported moderate to severe levels of depression and 44.4% of the learners reported moderate to severe levels of PTSD. Conclusion: The study established that there were heightened level of anxiety was a reality among school learners. There is need to implement efforts that address depressive symptoms before they escalate to unmanageable levels. Learners are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder whose effects will continue to be felt for long period of time unless intervention takes place. Therefore Kenyan schools not only need to prevent but also manage learners exhibiting the mental health symptoms to promote holistic growth with fully functional citizenry.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Substance Use, Emerging Substances and Poly Drug Use among Undergraduate Students in Universities in Kenya
    (African Journal of Alcohol & Drug Abuse, 2021-12-31) Ngure, Jane; Omulema, Briston; Ngure, Peter Kamau; Chepchieng, Micah
    There is an increase in the use of substances and the peak levels of substance use are seen among young people aged between 18-25. Substance use presents a barrier to learning, it impairs cognitive ability and distorts judgment. There is limited information on the magnitude of substance use and a countrywide study has not been conducted to determine the extent of substance use, emerging substances and poly drug use among undergraduate students in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of substance use, emerging substances and poly drug use among the undergraduates in Kenya. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. The target population was 451,081 undergraduate students, where 390,456 were in public and 60,625 in private chartered universities. The sample size was 1,500 participants selected from seven public and five private universities, from ten counties across the country. A World Health Organization (WHO) questionnaire - Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was used to determine the extent of substance use, poly drug use and emerging substances among the undergraduate students. The key substances were alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and shisha among others. The findings revealed prevalence of lifetime substance use of 48.6% and the prevalence of current use of 37.9%. Public universities (M=.48, SD= .50) had higher prevalence of current use than private universities (M=.26, SD= .43) with t (1435) = 8.94, p<.05. Alcohol was the most commonly used substance and shisha was an emerging substance. Poly drug use was reported at 162 (11.3%) among the current users. The prevalence of substance use is high. There is a need for universities to develop and implement interventions for the emerging substances and poly drug use to mitigate the potential risk of developing substance use disorders.