Impact of Drug Abuse among Students: A Case Study of the School of Health Technology, Jega, Kebbi State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37506/ijphrd.v11i3.1855Keywords:
Drug abuse, substance use, students, mental health, addiction, socio-economic, impact, burden, Nigeria.Abstract
Objectives: To determine the prevalence and pattern of drug abuse, and also explore the health and socioeconomic
impact of drug abuse among the students of the School of Health Technology (SHT), Jega Local
Government Area (LGA), Kebbi State, Nigeria.
Method: This study was a survey of 254 students of SHT, Jega LGA. Study tool was a questionnaire.
Collected data was analyzed using the SPSS Version 20 software.
Results: The mean age (±SD) of the respondents was 22.9 (±3.7) years and 54.3% were males. About onefifth
(17.8%) of the respondents had used drugs other than those required for medical reasons, 14.2% had
history of abuse of prescription drugs,17.7% abused drugs that were not prescribed for medical reasons,
and 19.3% abused more than one drug at a time. Furthermore, >four-tenth of those respondents who were
abusers of drugs had developed medical problems as a result of its use. More than 1/3 of those respondents
who gave a positive history of drug abuse had in one way or the other suffered from the socio-economic
and health consequences of drug abuse, some of these include strained relationships with close persons and
employers, loss of job, involvement in crime, and arrest.
Conclusion: The above findings recommend the need for an urgent social intervention targeted at curbing
the menace of drug abuse in the surveyed institution.
