An Investigation Into Prevalence And Factors Contributing To Relapse Among Alcoholics In Selected Rehabilitation Centres In Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

From the year 1999, there has been increasing alcohol abuse in Kenya with associate adverse consequences. As a result of this, there has been an increase in the establishment of treatment and rehabilitation services and demand for the same to assist abusers in recovery and avoid relapse. However, despite the availability and demand of these services, there has been also a simultaneous increase in the relapse cases. This casts doubt on the effectiveness of the existing treatment and rehabilitation services in meeting the ever-increasing number of cases admitted. This study sought to assess the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation services in addressing alcohol relapse in selected centres in Nairobi, Kenya. The study adopted an ex post facto causal comparative research design. The target population was all the relapse cases in the 14 rehabilitation centres registered by NACADA in Nairobi. A random sample of 109 alcoholics and 8 counselors drawn from 4 purposively selected rehabilitation centers were involved in the study. Data was collected through the administration of two sets of self-structured questionnaires to the selected respondents. The questionnaires were piloted to validate and test its reliability before the actual data collection. The data were then processed and analysed using descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 for Windows. The results of study have shown that relapse was influenced by the interaction of past-risks within the individual and environmental situations and level of preparedness to cope with these past-risks to resist drinking. These findings may benefit NACADA, Ministry of public health, mental health agencies, psychologists, counselors, Non-Governmental Organizations, policy makers, researchers, drug abusers and families of alcoholics. The study recommends there is need to restructure treatment and rehabilitation services and programs in order to effectively address the increasing alcohol abuse menace and associated relapse.