ArticleBMC public health2022
'As soon as they can hold a glass, they begin taking alcohol': a qualitative study on early childhood substance use in Mbale District, Uganda.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors associated with mental health stigma among teachers and caregivers of primary school children in Uganda.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Social determinants of hazardous alcohol use in a Ugandan population cohort.Global health action · 2025Article
- First consumption of alcohol and drugs: When does it start, in which occasions and what can we do to prevent it?Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- Association between early alcohol use and academic achievement among primary school children in Uganda: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Alcohol education in Ugandan primary schools: teaching approaches and learners' perspectives.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Drivers of illicit alcohol consumption among at-risk populations aged 15-29 years old in Zambia: a qualitative perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- "I don't belong here": experiences of substance use and treatment compliance among young adults in Lango, Uganda.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and psycho-social factors associated with alcohol use among primary school-going children aged 6 to 13 years in Mbale district, Uganda: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- Improving alcohol and substance use screening in school-age children: translation, adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the CRAFFT tool for Lumasaaba, Uganda.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Article
- Prevalence of probable substance use disorders among children in Ugandan health facilities.BMC public health · 2024Article
- "Alcohol will never run out": Socio-ecological drivers of adolescent boys' alcohol use in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Health facility readiness to screen, diagnose and manage substance use disorders in Mbale district, Uganda.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- "She gives it to her child who doesn't even talk": a qualitative exploration of alcohol and drug use among primary school-age children in Uganda.BMC public health · 2023Article
- 'There is nowhere to take the child': a qualitative study of community members' views on managing early childhood substance use in Mbale, Uganda.BMC public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGlobally, substance use is a leading contributor to the burden of disease among young people, with far reaching social, economic and health effects. Following a finding of harmful alcohol use among 5-8-year-old children in Mbale District, Uganda, this study aims to investigate community members' views on early childhood substance use among children below the age of 10 years.
methodsIn 2016, we conducted eight focus group discussions with 48 parents and 26 key informant interviews with teachers, health workers, alcohol distributors, traditional healers, religious leaders, community leaders and youth workers. We used thematic content analysis. Four participants and two research assistants reviewed and confirmed the findings.
resultsAlcohol in everyday life: 'Even children on laps taste alcohol': Almost all participants confirmed the existence of and concern for substance use before age 10. They described a context where substance use was widespread in the community, especially intake of local alcoholic brews. Children would access substances in the home or buy it themselves. Those living in poor neighbourhoods or slums and children of brewers were described as particularly exposed. Using substances to cope: 'We don't want them to drink': Participants explained that some used substances to cope with a lack of food and resources for childcare, as well as traumatic experiences. This made children in deprived families and street-connected children especially vulnerable to substance use. Participants believed this was a result of seeing no alternative solution.
conclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the context and conditions of childhood substance use before age 10 in Mbale District, Uganda. The study shows that community members attributed early childhood substance use to a social context of widespread use in the community, which was exacerbated by conditions of material and emotional deprivation. These social determinants for this practice deserve public health attention and intervention.
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