Evaluating the Impact of Awareness Programme on Substance Use among Female Undergraduates in Universities in Nairobi County, Kenya

Substance use has been on the rise among undergraduate students in universities in Kenya. This has raised concerns considering that institutions of higher learning have put in place psychosocial interventions towards addressing this vice. This study sought to evaluate the impact of awareness programmes on substance use among female undergraduate students in universities in Nairobi County.  The study was guided by the self-efficacy theory. An ex-post-facto research design was employed in the study. The target population comprised of all female students in universities in Nairobi County. Proportionate random sampling technique was employed to select the sample. A sample of 351 female undergraduate students was selected for the study from a target population of 40,647 female undergraduate students. One (1) student counsellor from each of the universities in Nairobi County also participated in the study. A semi-structured research questionnaire and an interview guide were used to facilitate the collection of data. To determine reliability, the questionnaire was pilot-tested in one public and one private university in Machakos County, Kenya. Cronbach’s alpha was used to estimate the reliability of the research instrument which yielded a coefficient greater than .7. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.  The study results established that the impact of awareness programmes (F = 10.609; p = .001) on substance use was statistically significant.  The study concluded that awareness programmes were effective in helping some students stop substance use