The impact of living on the streets on latency children's friendships

The impact of drop-in centers on the health of street children in New Delhi, India: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

(1) To determine whether street children who visit drop-in centers experience better physical and mental health, and engage in less substance use than street children who do not visit centers. (2) To determine whether the duration of attendance at a center has an impact on the above outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study with 69 street children from two drop-in centers in New Delhi, India (attenders) and a comparison group of 65 street children who did not visit drop-in centers (non-attenders). We used pretested questionnaires to assess their physical health, substance use status and mental health.

RESULTS

Attenders experienced fewer ill health outcomes, engaged in less substance use, and had better mental health outcomes than non-attenders (p<0.01). For every month of attendance at a drop-in center, street children experienced 2.1% (95% CI 0% to 4.1%, p=0.05) fewer ill health outcomes per month and used 4.6% (95% CI 1.3% to 8%, p=0.01) fewer substances. Street children were also less likely to have been a current substance user than a never substance user for every additional month of attendance at a center (OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.66-0.96, p=0.02). Duration of drop-in center attendance was not a significant factor in predicting mental health problems.

CONCLUSION

Drop-in centers may improve the physical health of street children and reduce their substance abuse. Rigorous longitudinal studies are needed to better determine if drop-in centers impact the health and substance use status of street children in LMICs.

Street children in Pakistan: A situational analysis of social conditions and nutritional status

This paper examines the social conditions and nutritional status of street children in Pakistan. Nutritional status is evaluated by an assessment of height and weight relative to age. A heterogeneous sample of 108 street children in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad was studied. One hundred and one of them were children "on the street" having regular family contact; seven were "of the street", without any family contact. Most street children came from large families which had recently moved to the city in search of economic opportunities. Their parents had low education levels and were either unemployed or employed in unskilled occupations. Poverty clearly was an important factor. The majority of the children moved to the street to augment family income. Most of the children were males (81%) and the average age at beginning life on the street was under 10 years. The majority was working 8-12 h daily with an average income of Rs. 40-60 per day (USD 1 = Rs. 60). Important issues were parental exploitation, police harassment, abuse, and the impact of other street peers in their lives. The distribution of height-for-age relative to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference standard showed that 20% were stunted and 12% had wasting. Wasting was equal between sexes, while fewer girls than boys were stunted. The study concludes that the issue of street children in Rawalpindi and Islamabad is mainly one of "children on the street," while "children of the street" are an exceptional phenomenon. It was noted that, with some exceptions, street children in other world regions share similar risk factors and backgrounds. Findings from this study will facilitate both the identification of high-risk families, i.e. those whose children are likely to take to the street, and timely preventive and rehabilitative measures.