Magnitude of substance use and associated factors among Wallaga University undergraduate students, Western Ethiopia, 2024

BackgroundSubstance use among undergraduate university students has been recognized as a global public health issue; however, little attention is given to addressing this issue. Limited research has been conducted on substance use and its associated factors in the western part of Ethiopia, including our study area, with the same study population. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of substance use and its associated factors among undergraduate students at Wallaga University in Western Ethiopia in 2024.Materials and methodsAn institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted involving 674 undergraduate students at Wallaga University from 25 March 2024 to 2 May 2024. Multistage cluster sampling was used for the sampling procedures, and data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire developed using the World Health Organization (WHO) ASSIST V3.0 tool. The collected data were entered into EpiData v.4.6 and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.26. Variables with a p-value of <0.25 in the bivariate analysis were entered into multivariable logistic regression. Adjusted odds ratios and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to quantify the degree of association. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant in the final model.ResultsA total of 674 students were included in the analysis, achieving a response rate of 94%. The mean age of the study participants was 22.66 ± 2.21 years (SD). The magnitude of current substance use was 29.5% (29.5, 95%CI: 25.96–33.04%). The current use of alcohol, khat, and tobacco was reported by 145 (22.8%) participants, 94 (14.8%) participants, and 16 (2.5%) participants, respectively. Factors such as being male (AOR =1.95, 95%CI: 1.27–2.78), having pocket money greater than 1,000 ETB (AOR = 2.27, 95%CI: 1.20–4.28), being a natural science student (AOR = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.17–2.78), having a mother who is a merchant (AOR = 1.96, 95%CI:1.09–3.51), and having a family member with a history of substance use (AOR = 2.93, 95%CI:2.02–4.24) were independently associated with substance use.Conclusion and recommendationsThe overall magnitude of substance use among undergraduate students at Wallaga University was high. Factors such as sex, religion, monthly pocket money, department stream, mother’s occupation, and having a family member with a history of substance use were independently associated with substance use. Therefore, Wallaga University, along with its stakeholders such as the community around the campus area, students’ families, and NGOs working on substance use, should collaborate to tackle the problem effectively. Generally, substance use among students demands special attention; therefore, preventive measures and control strategies should be implemented to avoid substance use among students.