Browsing by Author "Beyene, Yemane"

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    Health and Social Problems of Street Children in Nazareth Town
    (Addis Ababa University, 1995-05) Beyene, Yemane; Berhane, Yemane(PhD); Farrow, James(PhD)
    The exact number of street children in any given country is not known. To determine the number, health, and social problems of the street children, a cross sectional survey was conducted in Nazareth town, south eastern Ethiopia, from November to December 1994. Accordingly 5138 street children were counted during a one day census , by means of a systematic sampling. 597 subjects were selected into the study, 526(88.1%) Males and 71(11.9%) Females. The age ranged from 5 to 18 with mean age of 12.9 and SD of 3. 16. (41.2%) of the children left their families when they were 10-14 years old, and 30 . 7% were separated in early childhood (0-4 years). Onl y (1 8 . 3%) were attending school currently, (54.6%) were children "on" the street and t he rest (45 . 4%) were "of" the street children, (67.2%) of the children eat at least twice daily, (14. 6%) of the children reported the use of at least one of the substances like Alcohol, cigarette, and chat. (61.6%) of the children reported an illness during the survey. The major health complaints were abdominal pain, cough and chest pain, eye and ear problems, headache and leg ulcer . This survey indicated that substance use, police arrest, sexual intercourse and STDs were reported more frequently among the "of " the street chi ldren . In conclusion, the street children have complex social and health problems which need to be addressed utilizing a multisectoral approach