In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth speaks to Dr Sandra Jumbe from the School of Social and Health Sciences at Millenium University in Malawi and the Wolfson Institute of Public Health Queen Mary, and Dr Chris Newby from the Medical School at the University of Nottingham. Sandra and Chris discuss their findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis on factors associated with adolescent substance use in Africa between 2000 and 2020. 

·      What do we already know about adolescent use in Africa and why this review was needed [01:40]

·      The headline findings of the review [03:50]

·      What the consolidation of findings in this topic area will achieve [05:58]

·      The themes that came out of the ‘non-familial’ category of factors associated with adolescent substance use [09:00]

·      The main themes that came out of the ‘socioeconomic or environmental’ category of factors associated with adolescent substance use [10:05]

·      The regional differences in the drugs consumed across Africa [12:10]

·      What drugs are captured in standardised surveys [14:29]

·      The experience of doing systematic reviews and meta-analyses [15:20]

About Sandra Jumbe: Dr Jumbe is a health psychologist currently working as a senior lecturer in research at Millennium University in Blantyre Malawi and a health researcher at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London. She is also an African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE) fellow with the African Academy of Sciences. She is an expert in behavioural science, enabling her to set the foundations for evidence-based work that informs development of effective interventions and policy decisions to improve human health. She has worked in both clinical and academic settings in primary care and mental health. Dr Jumbe’s long term aspiration is to expand understanding of global mental health and substance use, by advancing research niched on youth mental health in Africa, while training fellow young African scientists. She is also a mental health advocate, passionate about improving mental health literacy at grassroots level using community engagement and culturally sensitive approaches.

About Chris Newby: Dr Newby is a senior medical statistician at the Research Knowledge Exchange, at the Medical School at the University of Nottingham. He has worked in NIHR Biomedical Research Units, Clinical Trial Units and is currently a senior quantitative advisor at the Research Support Service Leicester Hub and Partners. His interests are Respiratory, Mental Health and Equality Diversity and Inclusion in Health Research.    

Sandra, Chris nor Elle have any conflicts of interest to declare.

Original article: A systematic review and meta-analysis of factors associated with adolescent substance use in Africa, 2000 to 2020: https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70023

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