Table 2. Key health, economic, social, and safety indicators among Nairobi youth and young adults in August-October 2020; by gender, weighted (n = 1,217).
| Young men | Young women | p-value† | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 605) | (n = 612) | ||
| % | % | ||
| COVID-19-RELATED RISKS AND PERCEPTIONS | |||
| Level of concern about the spread of COVID-19 in community | <0.001 | ||
| Very concerned or concerned | 80.8 | 91.7 | |
| A little concerned or not concerned | 19.3 | 8.3 | |
| Level of concern about becoming infected, among those who did not contract COVID-19 (n = 1,215)1 | <0.001 | ||
| Very concerned or concerned | 84.2 | 95.5 | |
| A little concerned or not concerned | 15.9 | 4.5 | |
| Has engaged in at least one preventive behavior against COVID-192 | 100.0 | 100.0 | -- |
| ECONOMIC | |||
| Ability to meet basic needs | 0.06 | ||
| Very able | 13.8 | 9.0 | |
| Somewhat able | 41.2 | 37.6 | |
| Not very able/not at all able | 45.0 | 53.4 | |
| Hardship to the household since COVID-19 restrictions | <0.001 | ||
| Hardship to male household members | 12.1 | 5.5 | |
| Hardship to female household members | 36.6 | 87.7 | |
| Transactional partnership past year, among those with a past year partner (n = 449 women) 1 | -- | 35.6 | -- |
| Transactional partnership timing relative to COVID-19, among those involved (n = 160) | |||
| Before COVID-19 restrictions | -- | 15.2 | -- |
| Since COVID-19 restrictions | -- | 27.6 | |
| Both time periods | -- | 57.2 | |
| Dependence on transactional partnership since COVID-19, among those involved at both times (n = 106) 1 | |||
| Increased | -- | 49.1 | -- |
| No change | -- | 27.8 | |
| Decreased | -- | 23.1 | |
| HEALTH | |||
| Health service disruption | <0.001 | ||
| Did not attempt to access | 67.8 | 48.0 | |
| Attempted to access—no disruption | 12.5 | 18.6 | |
| Attempted to access—experienced disruption | 19.7 | 33.4 | |
| Contraceptive access disruption, among contraceptive users at follow-up (n = 628) 1,3 | 40.4 | 34.6 | 0.29 |
| Menstrual hygiene access challenges (any)* | -- | 52.0 | -- |
| Challenge: Lack of money to buy product | -- | 45.0 | -- |
| Challenge: Could not go to store to buy | -- | 7.8 | -- |
| Challenge: Was not comfortable asking someone to go to the store | -- | 5.1 | -- |
| Challenge: Product unavailable | -- | 3.4 | -- |
| Depressive symptoms | 21.8 | 24.3 | 0.50 |
| SOCIAL | |||
| Decisional control to leave the house | |||
| Full control | 53.2 | 40.0 | 0.003 |
| A fair amount | 17.4 | 25.3 | |
| Some | 14.2 | 11.9 | |
| Very little/none | 15.2 | 22.9 | |
| Changes to time spent with partner, among those currently in a partnership (n = 855) 1 | 0.84 | ||
| Increased | 38.5 | 39.6 | |
| Unchanged | 15.8 | 13.8 | |
| Decreased | 45.7 | 46.6 | |
| Can get emotional help and support needed | 0.19 | ||
| Strongly agree | 34.8 | 37.7 | |
| Agree | 51.5 | 47.8 | |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 11.6 | 14.0 | |
| Disagree/strongly disagree | 2.1 | 0.5 | |
| Has safe and private way to access the internet | <0.001 | ||
| Always | 40.2 | 26.1 | |
| Sometimes | 33.7 | 39.7 | |
| Rarely/Never | 26.1 | 34.2 | |
| Limitations on internet access | |||
| Cost of data | 67.0 | 68.8 | 0.65 |
| Shares device with others; does not own personal device | 25.7 | 31.9 | 0.11 |
| Lack of privacy | 10.1 | 11.7 | 0.53 |
| Time restrictions enforced by household members | 4.0 | 6.0 | 0.29 |
| Only allowed for work or school purposes | 3.2 | 6.9 | 0.02 |
| Other | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.38 |
| No limitations | 15.5 | 10.9 | 0.07 |
| SAFETY | |||
| Safety at home since COVID-19 restrictions | 0.79 | ||
| Very safe | 71.1 | 70.4 | |
| Somewhat safe | 20.8 | 22.7 | |
| Not very safe/not safe at all | 8.1 | 6.9 | |
| Safety in public since COVID-19 restrictions | 0.01 | ||
| Very safe | 11.8 | 5.4 | |
| Somewhat safe | 22.7 | 20.3 | |
| Not very safe | 49.9 | 52.9 | |
| Not safe at all | 15.7 | 21.4 | |
| Interactions with police | |||
| Fear of police harassment when leaving home | 31.8 | 27.9 | 0.30 |
| Reported any interaction with police since COVID-19 restrictions began | 60.1 | 38.0 | <0.001 |
| Police demands for money or something else among those with contact (n = 576) 1 | 55.2 | 43.4 | 0.06 |
| Experienced violence in past 12 months, by type of violence: | |||
| Intimate partner violence (IPV) among respondents with partner (n = 449) 1 | -- | 17.3 | -- |
| Non-partner sexual violence | -- | 3.0 | -- |
| Timing of IPV experiences of relative to COVID-19 (n = 67) 1 | -- | ||
| Before COVID-19 restrictions only | -- | 29.9 | -- |
| Since COVID-19 restrictions only | -- | 43.3 | -- |
| Both time periods | -- | 26.8 | -- |
†Design-based F-statistic.
1 Weighted n’s and percentages presented to account for survey design; may not add up to sub-sample raw n’s.
2Prevention behaviors: Washing hands with soap and water frequently; Washing hands with hand sanitizer frequently; Avoiding any close contact (2 meters) with people when you; Staying in your home; Wearing something that covers your mouth and nose when you go out; Avoiding shaking hands with others; Coughing/sneezing into your elbow or tissue.
3Excludes users of withdrawal or safe days method.
*Responses not mutually exclusive.