Publication:

Factors, Awareness of the Effects and Prevalenceof Khat Chewing Among the Youth in Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya

Khat consumption is neither a habit confined to any specific socio-economic group nor gender specific. A common behaviour cuts across all segments of the Kenyan youth’s population. Several studies have revealed that Khat consumption is widely experienced by both the young in school and out of school and the old though the young are the most affected group and they lack awareness about its effects. As such, the current study will examine factors, awareness and prevalence of khat effects of khat chewing on wellbeingamong the youth in Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives; to find out factors that contribute to khat chewing to determine the prevalence of khat chewing, to assess the effects of khat consumption awareness on health and to assess the effects awareness of khat consumption on social-economic life among youth in Eastleigh, Nairobi County, Kenya. The study was guided by Social Learning and Reference Grouptheories, which will play an imperative role in understanding why people indulge in Khat consumption and other Khat- consumption behaviour. The study adopted a survey research method whereby information is gathered from a sample of people by use of questionnaire. The study targeted 200 youths from Section I, 150 from Section II and 100 from Section III, which has low population as compared to other sections according to Eastleigh Business Centres report (2014). The study further targeted (2) two individual from each Division who are above 35 years. Therefore, the study target population was 456 participants. The study sample size consisted of 384 youths and six Key Informants that is 390participants. The three Divisions in this study was selected purposively because they are the three main Divisions in Eastleigh. Information obtained from them wastherefore most likely reflected on the real situation in the targeted population. Thequestionnaire used in this study was pre-tested through a pilot study before actual data collection. To guarantee validity of the instrument the researcher imparted the data in the questionnaires to experts to find out whether the questions are appropriate. Vague questions will be disposed of and harmonized to enhance the validity of the questionnaire. Test-retest method was utilized to establish consistency of the questionnaires. The retest was conducted using of the Cronbach constant alpha for the degree at which the variable is measured. A cut-off of more than 0.7 was satisfactory in evaluating consistency for multi-item measures. Inferential statistics, that is, Chi-square was used to apply a one-on-one relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. This formed the basis for rejecting or accepting the null hypothesis. The researcher adopted content analysis method to analyze qualitative data. A finding was displayed in graphs, tables and pie charts. Ethical issues in this research sought from NACOTSI in Kenya, MKU and consent form from respondents. The study revealed that (36.06%) of respondents revealed that they were introduced to khat by their neighbor and peers. The study found out that 70% of youths consume khat, this shows that the khat consumption prevalence is very in Eight Leigh. The researcher found out that 66.67% were aware of effects of khat consumption on health but they still consume. The study concluded that the rate of khat consumption was high and most youths are aware of khat consumption effects on health and social-economic life. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------