Self-rated physical health, health-risk behaviors, and disparities: A cross-sectional study of youth in the slums of Kampala, Uganda

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic and Psychosocial Characteristics, Proportion of Participants, and Wording of Measures Used in the Kampala Youth Survey.

Variables (N = 1,132)			Total	%
	Self-Rated Physical Health	Excellent/Good	815	72.0
		Fair/Poor	317	28.0
		Total	1132	100.0
Demographics	Sex	Male	497	43.9
		Female	634	56.0
		Total	1131	99.9
	Age	12–14years old	236	20.8
		15–18 years old	896	79.0
		Total	1132	100.0
	Education	Never Completed Primary	396	35.0
		Completed Primary	263	23.2
		Secondary or Higher	459	40.5
		Total	1118	98.8
	Religion	Christian/Muslim	1057	93.4
		African Trad/Other	75	6.6
		Total	1132	100.0
	Parents	At least 1 parent alive	881	77.8
		Both parents are dead	251	22.2
		Total	1132	100.0
Housing	How many rooms does your household use for sleeping?	One	469	41.4
		Two	365	32.2
		More than two	265	23.4
		Other	32	2.8
		Total	1131	99.9
	What is the roof of your home made of?	Thatch/straw	24	2.1
		Iron sheets	1082	95.6
		Tiles	10	0.9
		Other	16	1.4
		Total	1132	100.0
	Have you ever lived on the streets with no other place to go?	Yes	249	22.0
		No	882	77.9
		Total	1131	99.9
	Do you have any of the following in your home? Electricity	Yes	867	76.6
		No	262	23.1
		Total	1129	99.7
Alcohol Consumption	How old were you when you had your first full drink of alcohol? (more than a few sips)	1–14 yo	174	15.4
		15–18 yo	231	20.4
		Never	727	64.2
		Total	1132	100.0
	How many full drinks containing alcohol do you have in a typical day when you are drinking?	No drinks	787	69.5
		1–2 drinks	195	17.2
		3 or more drinks	150	13.3
		Total	1132	100.0
	Have you ever sought help for your drinking?	Yes	59	5.2
		No	1073	94.8
		Total	1132	100.0
	In the past month: How many days did you drink so much that you were really drunk?	0 days	854	75.4
		1 or 2 days	168	14.8
		3–5 days	78	6.9
		6+ days	32	2.8
		Total	1132	100.0
HIV/STI	Have you been told by a doctor/nurse or HIV counselor that you have a sexually transmitted infection such as syphilis, herpes, bola, or gonorrhea?	Yes	419	37.0
		No	710	62.7
		Total	1129	10.2
	Have you been told by doctor/nurse or HIV counselor that you have HIV?	Yes	116	10.2
		No	986	87.1
		Total	1102	97.3
Injury/Violence	Have you been seriously injured or hurt due to your drinking?	Yes	132	11.7
		No	1000	88.3
		Total	1132	100.0
	In the past year, did your boyfriend/girlfriend hit, slap, or hurt you?	Yes	156	13.8
		No	976	86.2
		Total	1132	100.0
Mental Health	In the past year, did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing your usual activities?	Yes	652	57.6
		No	475	42.0
		Total	1127	99.6
	In the past year, did you ever think of hurting yourself?	Yes	394	34.8
		No	731	64.6
		Total	1125	99.4
	In the past month, how often … Have you felt lonely?	Never	214	18.9
		Sometimes	740	65.4
		Often	173	15.3
		Total	1127	99.6
	In the past month, how often … Have you been so worried about something that you wanted to use drugs or alcohol to feel better?	Never	710	62.7
		Sometimes	257	22.7
		Often	159	14.0
		Total	1126	99.5
	In the past month, how often … Did you feel hopeful about the future?	Never	135	11.9
		Sometimes	484	42.8
		Often	508	44.9
		Total	1127	99.6
	Overall, what do you think about the following statement?
I will probably die before I am thirty.	Yes	146	12.9
		No	983	86.8
		Total	1129	99.7
	Overall, what do you think about the following statement?
There are people I can count on in this neighbourhood.	Yes	914	80.7
		No	214	18.9
		Total	1128	99.6
	Overall, what do you think about the following statement?
I feel safe in this neighbourhood.	Yes	875	77.3
		No	253	22.3
		Total	1128	99.6

Table 2. Comparative Analysis of Psychosocial and Behavioural Characteristics and Self-Rated Physical Health.

	Self-Rated Physical Health
	EXCELLENT/GOOD N = 815 (72%)	FAIR/POOR N = 317 (28%)	Total (%)	P
Sex
Male	366 (44.96)	131 (41.32)	497 (43.94)	0.2682
Female	448 (55.04)	186 (58.68)	634 (56.06)
Age
Mean (IQR)	16.27 (3)	15.83 (4)	1132	0.0008^1
Education
Never Completed Primary	254 (31.44)	142 (45.81)	396 (35.42)	<.0001
Completed Primary	194 (24.01)	69 (22.26)	263 (23.52)
Secondary or Higher	360 (44.55)	99 (31.94)	459 (41.06)
Religion
Christian/Muslim	763 (93.62)	294 (92.74)	1,057 (93.37)	0.5950
African Trad/Other	52 (6.38)	23 (7.26)	75 (6.63)
Parents
At least 1 parent alive	664 (81.47)	217 (68.45)	881 (77.83)	<.0001
Both parents are dead	151 (18.53)	100 (31.55)	251(22.17)
How many rooms does your household use for sleeping?
One	314 (38.53)	155 (49.05)	469 (41.47)	0.0011
Two	273 (33.50)	92 (29.11)	365 (32.27)
More than two	209 (25.64)	56 (17.72)	265 (23.43)
Other	19 (2.33)	13 (4.11)	32 (2.83)
What is the roof of your home made of?
Thatch/straw	10 (1.23)	14 (4.42)	24 (2.12)	<.00012
Iron sheets	788 (96.69)	294 (92.74)	1,082 (95.58)
Tiles	9 (1.10)	1 (0.32)	10 (0.88)
Other	8 (0.98)	8 (2.52)	16 (1.41)
Have you ever lived on the streets?
Yes	131 (16.09)	118 (37.22)	249 (22.02)	<.0001
No	683 (83.91)	199 (62.78)	882 (77.98)
Do you have any of the following in your home? Electricity
Yes	670 (82.41)	197 (62.34)	867 (76.79)	<.0001
No	143 (17.59)	119 (37.66)	262 (23.21)
How old were you when you had your first full drink of alcohol?
1–14 yo	103 (12.64)	71 (22.40)	174 (15.37)	0.0001
15–18 yo	166 (20.37)	65 (20.50)	231 (20.41)
Never	546 (66.99)	181 (57.10)	727 (64.22)
How many full drinks containing alcohol do you have in a typical day when you are drinking?
No drinks	589 (72.27)	198 (62.46)	787 (69.52)	0.0045
1–2 drinks	125 (15.34)	70 (22.08)	195 (17.23)
3 or more drinks	101 (12.39)	49 (15.46)	150 (13.25)
Have you ever sought help for your drinking?
Yes	34 (4.17)	25 (7.89)	59 (5.21)	0.0116
No	781 (95.83)	292 (92.11)	1,073 (94.79)
How many days did you drink so much that you were really drunk?^4
0 days	639 (78.40)	215 (67.82)	854 (75.44)	<.0001
1 or 2 days	114 (13.99)	54 (17.03)	168 (14.84)
3–5 days	51 (6.26)	27 (8.52)	78 (6.89)
6+ days	11 (1.35)	21 (6.62)	32 (2.83)
Have you been told by a doctor/nurse or HIV counselor that you have a sexually transmitted infection such as syphilis, herpes, bola, or gonorrhea?
Yes	282 (34.69)	137 (43.35)	419 (37.11)	0.0068
No	531 (65.31)	179 (56.65)	710 (62.89)
Have you been told by doctor/nurse or HIV counselor that you have HIV?
Yes	65 (8.23)	51 (16.35)	116 (10.53)	<.0001
No	725 (91.77)	261 (83.65)	986 (89.47)
Have you been seriously injured or hurt due to your drinking?
Yes	76 (9.33)	56 (17.67)	132 (11.66)	<.0001
No	739 (90.67)	261 (82.33)	1,000 (88.34)
Did your boyfriend/girlfriend hit, slap, or hurt you?^3
Yes	101 (12.39)	55 (17.35)	156 (13.78)	0.0298
No	714 (87.61)	262 (82.65)	976 (86.22)
Did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing your usual activities?^3
Yes	447 (55.05)	205 (65.08)	652 (57.85)	0.0022
No	365 (44.95)	110 (34.92)	475 (42.15)
Did you ever think of hurting yourself?^3
Yes	245 (30.21)	149 (47.45)	394 (35.02)	<.0001
No	566 (69.79)	165 (52.55)	731 (64.98)
Have you felt lonely?^4
Never	173 (21.33)	41 (12.97)	214 (18.99)	0.0003
Sometimes	530 (65.35)	210 (66.46)	740 (65.66)
Often	108 (13.32)	65 (20.57)	173 (15.35)
Have you been so worried about something that you wanted to use drugs or alcohol to feel better?^4
Never	539 (66.54)	171 (54.11)	710 (63.06)	0.0003
Sometimes	172 (21.23)	85 (26.90)	257 (22.82)
Often	99 (12.22)	60 (18.99)	159 (14.12)
Did you feel hopeful about the future?^4
Never	88 (10.85)	47 (14.87)	135 (11.98)	0.0010
Sometimes	330 (40.69)	154 (48.73)	484 (42.95)
Often	393 (48.46)	115 (36.39)	508 (45.08)
I will probably die before I am thirty.
Yes	88 (10.82)	58 (18.35)	146 (12.93)	0.0007
No	725 (89.18)	258 (81.65)	983 (87.07)
There are people I can count on in this neighbourhood.
Yes	675 (83.13)	239 (75.63)	914 (81.03)	0.0039
No	137 (16.87)	77 (24.37)	214 (18.97)
I feel safe in this neighbourhood.
Yes	643 (79.19)	232 (73.42)	875 (77.57)	0.0370
No	169 (20.81)	84 (26.58)	253 (22.43)

Note. P-values were calculated from chi-square tests unless otherwise noted. P-values were assessed based on a significance level of 0.05. Column percentages used.

¹ Wilcoxon Two-Sample Test;

² Fischer’s Exact Test;

³ Past Year;

⁴ Past Month

Table 3. Multivariable Logistic Regression Analyses of the Associations between Psychosocial and Behavioural Characteristics and Poor Self-Rated Physical Health.

	Crude OR (95% CI)	AdjustedOR^1 (95% CI)
Sex
Male	1.00	–
Female	1.16 (0.89, 1.51)	–
Age	0.88 (0.82, 0.94)	–
Education
Never Completed Primary	1.00	–
Completed Primary	0.64 (0.45, 0.90)	–
Secondary or Higher	0.50 (0.36, 0.67)	–
Religion
Christian/Muslim	1.00	–
African Trad/Other	1.15 (0.69, 1.91)	–
Parents
At least 1 parent alive	1.00	1.00
Both parents are dead	2.03 (1.51, 2.72)	1.91 (1.41, 2.59)
How many rooms does your household use for sleeping?
One	1.00	1.00
Two	0.68 (0.50, 0.93)	0.69 (0.51, 0.95)
More than two	0.54 (0.38, 0.77)	0.60 (0.41, 0.86)
Other	1.39 (0.50, 0.93)	1.23 (0.57, 2.63)
What is the roof of your home made of?
Thatch/straw	1.00	1.00
Iron sheets	0.27 (0.12, 0.61)	0.23 (0.09, 0.54)
Tiles	0.08 (0.01, 0.73)	0.06 (0.01, 0.61)
Other	0.71 (0.20, 2.55)	0.55 (0.15, 2.06)
Have you ever lived on the streets with no other place to go?
Yes	3.09 (2.30, 4.15)	3.41 (2.60, 4.67)
No	1.00	1.00
Do you have any of the following in your home? Electricity
Yes	1.00	1.00
No	2.83 (2.12, 3.78)	2.68 (1.99, 3.62)
How old were you when you had your first full drink of alcohol?
1–14 yo	2.08 (1.47, 2.94)	2.41 (1.68, 3.46)
15–18 yo	1.18 (0.85, 1.65)	1.55 (1.07, 2.25)
Never	1.00	1.00
How many full drinks containing alcohol do you have in a typical day when you are drinking?
No drinks	1.00	1.00
1–2 drinks	1.67 (1.19, 2.33)	1.98 (1.39, 2.83)
3 or more drinks	1.44 (0.99, 2.11)	1.83 (1.22, 2.75)
Have you ever sought help for your drinking?
Yes	1.97 (1.15, 3.35)	2.30 (1.32, 4.02)
No	1.00	1.00
How many days did you drink so much that you were really drunk?^2
0 days	1.00	1.00
1 or 2 days	1.41 (0.98, 2.02)	1.69 (1.16, 2.47)
3–5 days	1.57 (0.96, 2.57)	1.96 (1.17, 3.27)
6+ days	5.67 (2.69, 11.96)	6.79 (3.14, 14.69)
Have you been told by a doctor/nurse or HIV counselor that you have a sexually transmitted infection such as syphilis, herpes, bola, or gonorrhea?
Yes	1.44 (1.11, 1.88)	1.49 (1.12, 1.97)
No	1.00	1.00
Have you been told by doctor/nurse or HIV counselor that you have HIV?
Yes	2.18 (1.47, 3.23)	2.25 (1.49, 3.40)
No	1.00	1.00
Have you been seriously injured or hurt due to your drinking?
Yes	2.09 (1.44, 3.03)	2.42 (1.63, 3.58)
No	1.00	1.00
Did your boyfriend/girlfriend hit, slap, or hurt you?^3
Yes	1.48 (1.04, 2.12)	1.71 (1.18, 2.48)
No	1.00	1.00
Did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing your usual activities?^3
Yes	1.52 (1.16, 1.99)	1.66 (1.25, 2.20)
No	1.00	1.00
Did you ever think of hurting yourself?^3
Yes	2.09 (1.60, 2.73)	2.26 (1.71, 2.99)
No	1.00	1.00
Have you felt lonely?^2
Never	1.00	1.00
Sometimes	1.67 (1.15, 2.44)	1.70 (1.16, 2.49)
Often	2.54 (1.61, 4.02)	2.51 (1.55, 4.05)
Have you been so worried about something that you wanted to use drugs or alcohol to feel better?^2
Never	1.00	1.00
Sometimes	1.56 (1.14, 2.13)	1.68 (1.22, 2.33)
Often	1.91 (1.33, 2.75)	2.08 (1.41, 3.06)
Did you feel hopeful about the future?^2
Never	1.00	1.00
Sometimes	0.87 (0.58, 1.31)	0.89
Often	0.55 (0.36, 0.83)	0.57 (0.38, 0.88)
I will probably die before I am thirty.
Yes	1.85 (1.29, 2.66)	1.97 (1.36, 2.85)
No	1.00	1.00
There are people I can count on in this neighbourhood
Yes	1.00	1.00
No	1.59 (1.16, 2.18)	1.55 (1.12, 2.14)
I feel safe in this neighbourhood.
Yes	1.00	1.00
No	1.38 (1.02, 1.86)	1.43 (1.05, 1.94)

Note. 95% confidence intervals provided in parenthesis. aOR =  ‘adjusted odds ratio’

Self-rated physical health was coded as 0 = good/excellent health and 1 =  fair/poor health

¹ Adjusted for age, gender, religion, and education

² Past Month

³ Past Year