A qualitative study of major influencers of substance abuse in undergraduate medical students of Saint Paul's Hospital, Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Substance abuse has been shown to be common among college students, particularly those attending colleges in low- and middle-income nations such as Ethiopia. Despite the fact that it has been a neglected topic area in Ethiopian research literature, and there have been few investigations done to understand major influencers for substance abuse among medical students, this research fills the information gap through a qualitative in-depth approach, which aids in focus areas for intervention and treatment. Objectives The general objective of the study was to understand major influencers that contribute to substance abuse among undergraduate medical students at saint Paul’s hospital millennium medical college Methods An exploratory qualitative study design was employed. The study was conducted in saint Paul’s hospital millennium medical college from March, 2023 to May, 2023. Data were obtained using In-depth interviews among substance abusers in the college. Seven participants were snowballed and interviewed in-depth about their experiences, challenges and opportunities. We used thematic analysis approach and identified four main themes to present the findings. Results The findings of this study showed that Khat, alcohol and cigarette were the most common substance used. There were multiple barriers that are identified as major influencers of substance abuse among medical students such as Psychosocial and economical barriers, medical school environment, challenges to stop. These barriers were discussed under four themes and six subthemes that emerged from the thematic analysis of the data. Conclusion There are multiple major barriers that influence substance abuse. psycho social and economic barriers and reasons associated with being a medical student are the center of the barriers for substance abuse. This study recommends intervention from the college by strengthening the support group and engaging in other activities in the compound and also to have a policy change by the government on strict control of substance............. Thesis available at Addis Continental Institute of Public Health Library