Exploring a syndemic of poverty, cumulative violence, and HIV vulnerability among refugee youth
Multi-method insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda
Bibliographic Data
Synergistic associations between social inequities and HIV vulnerabilities – known as a syndemic – are understudied with youth in humanitarian settings. We explored refugee youths’ HIV prevention needs in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement, Uganda. This multi-methods study involved 6 focus groups and 12 in-depth individual interviews (IDI) with refugee youth (n = 60) aged 16–24, and IDI with refugee elders (n = 8) and healthcare providers (n = 8). We then conducted cross-sectional surveys with refugee youth (16–24 years) (n = 115) to assess: poverty, recent sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and condom engagement motivation (CEM) (wanting to learn about condoms for HIV prevention). Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios for associations between poverty and SGBV with CEM. Qualitative narratives revealed poverty and trauma elevated substance use, and these converged to exacerbate SGBV. SGBV and transactional sex increased HIV vulnerabilities. Among survey participants, poverty and recent SGBV were associated with reduced odds of CEM. The interaction between poverty and recent SGBV was significant: the predicted probability of CEM among youth who experienced both poverty and SGBV was almost half than among youth who experienced poverty alone, SGBV alone, or neither. Findings signal the confluence of poverty, violence, and substance use elevate refugee youth HIV vulnerabilities
Domestic violence · Environmental health · Family medicine · Logistic regression · Odds · Poison control · Political science · Population · Poverty · Refugee · Suicide prevention · Syndemic · Transactional sex · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Sex work and related issues
Epidemiology of Substance Use among Forced Migrants
Examining the substance use, violence, and HIV and Aids (Sava) syndemic among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda
‘Men value their dignity’
Risk and protective factors for comorbidity of PTSD, depression, and anxiety among Somali refugees in Kenya
Experiences of Violence, Perceptions of Neighborhood, and Psychosocial Adjustment Among West African Refugee Youth
Six rapid assessments of alcohol and other substance use in populations displaced by conflict
Progress and gaps in reproductive health services in three humanitarian settings
Mixed-methods findings from the Ngutulu Kagwero (agents of change) participatory comic pilot study on post-rape clinical care and sexual violence prevention with refugee youth in a humanitarian setting in Uganda
Willingness to Pay for Condoms among Men in Sub-Saharan Africa
It hurts so much to live for nothing”
Understanding HIV Risk Behaviors Among Young Men in South Africa
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Gendered syndemic of intimate partner violence, alcohol misuse, and HIV risk among peri-urban, heterosexual men in South Africa
Sexual and gender-based violence against refugee women
Integrating quantitative and qualitative research
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |