| dc.description.abstract | Background: Alcohol and substance abuse has continued to be a serious health problem among the youth in Kamwokya slum, Central Division, Kampala district and it has been affecting the community for a long time. However, the burden of drug abuse and the risk factors predisposing them to vice are not fully known. A cross-sectional was conducted to assess the burden of alcohol and substance abuse and the associated risk factors among the youth in the Kamwokya slum in the Central division of Kampala district. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted amongst the youth of Kamwokya slum, Central Division, Kampala district. This study was approved by the Makerere University School of Biomedical Sciences Research and Ethics Committee with reference number SBS- 2023-355. Study participants were recruited consecutively until the sample size was reached. A modified WHO ASSIST tool was used to collect data on alcohol and substance abuse among the youth in the Kamwokya slum area in Kampala District. Data was double-entered into EpiData , validated and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. Chi-square test, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to relate the findings to alcohol and other substance abuse. Results: A total of 145 study participants were interviewed. Majority of respondents interviewed were males (62%, n=90). Most of the respondents were aged between 18 – 24 years (51%, n=75). Study findings showed that most of the respondents were students (30%, n=44), followed by business persons (25%, n=36). The majority of the respondents stayed in rentals (63%, n=91), and (27%, n=40) of the respondents stayed in their ' 'parent's houses. Findings showed that (58%, n=84) had ever used alcohol and other substances of abuse in the past one month. Most of the respondents were taking alcoholic beverages (35%, n=51), followed by those cannabis (27%, n=40) and followed by those taking tobacco (22%, n=32). There was a significant association between occupation and drug/alcohol use (p < 0.001). Findings showed a significant association between age and drug/alcohol use (p = 0.019). Findings showed that there was a significant association between residence and drug/alcohol use (p = 0.020). The majority of the respondents (58.6%, n=85) agreed with eradicating alcohol and other substances and Opinions were more evenly distributed across the categories. However, there was no significant association between this opinion and drug/alcohol use (p > 0.05). Respondents who disagreed that alcohol and other substances of abuse are okay if consumed responsibly were less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol consumption compared to those who were neutral (OR=0.073; 95%CI: 0.014 to 0.372; P = 0.002) and (OR=0.226; 95%CI: 0.058 to 0.888; P = 0.033) Conclusion: More than half (58%) of the youth in this study had ever used substance abuse. Most of the respondents were taking alcoholic beverages (35%), followed by those cannabis (27%,) and followed by those taking tobacco (22%). | en_US |
