Assessment of Certain Aspects and Health Issues that Encountered by Street Children and Adolescents in Kirkuk City

Street children refer to children who experience homelessness and live on streets. They are the most vulnerable group to political and economic changes. We conducted this study to assess the health problems that face street children in Kirkuk city as well as to identify the demographic characteristics of those children. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1, 2014 to April 1, 2015 in Kirkuk-Iraq. Data were collected in various settings including markets, streets, playgrounds, etc., a convenience sample of 150 children was selected by interviewing the children. Data analysis was done via using descriptive statistics, which included frequency and percentages. The findings of the study showed that 50% of the children aged more than 15 years of which, 80.7% were males, and 58% of them were refugees. Because of their being street children, poverty constitutes 81.3%. 50.7% of the children was selling wares, 59.3% of them had faced maltreatment, and 54.3% of the children had received treatment for headache. Poverty, low income, was the main reason that led children to work in streets because most of them were refugees. The children were mainly suffering from headache and back pain.