Inter-relatedness of underlying factors for injury and violence among adolescents in rural coastal Kenya: A qualitative study

• Main Authors: Derrick Ssewanyana, Anneloes van Baar, Patrick N Mwangala, Charles R Newton, Amina Abubakar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2019-05-01
• Series: Health Psychology Open
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102919849399

We utilized a socio-ecological model to explore views from 85 young people and 10 local stakeholders on forms and underlying factors for unintentional injury, violence, self-harm, and suicidal behavior of adolescents in Kilifi County, Kenya. Young people took part in 11 focus group discussions, whereas 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with the local stakeholders. Road traffic accidents, falls, fights, sexual and gender-based violence, theft, and vandalism were viewed as common. There was an overlap of risk factors, especially at intra- and interpersonal levels (gender, poverty, substance use, parenting behavior, school drop-out). Some broader-level risk factors were insecure neighborhoods and risky sources of livelihood. Research is needed to quantify burden and to pilot feasible injury prevention interventions in this setting.