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.

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.

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.