African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies

Concordance between self-report psychoactive substance use and urine drug test among students of University of Ilorin, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

2024-06-17T16:02:31+00:00

The prevalence of psychoactive substance use is increasing globally, and university students are not left behind. Self-report, using questionnaire has been the common method of assessing substance use amongst the students' population. This is, however, fraught with problems of poor reporting and intentional lie. Urine Drug Test (UDT) is a biochemical method that tests the recent use of substances either as a direct test of the psychoactive substance or its metabolite(s). This cross-sectional study aims to study the concordance between self-report and UDT amongst students' population. Two thousand five hundred and fifty students of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria completed a questionnaire based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for student substance-use surveys. Substances investigated in the survey were alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, strong and mild stimulants, hypno-sedatives, cocaine, opiate, organic solvents, and hallucinogens. A subset of the total population, made of three hundred and two of the students were, subsequently, selected to participate in the urine drug test using a commercially available 12-items UDT kit. The reported lifetime and current prevalence of the substances were: tobacco, 11.5% and 3.7%; alcohol, 38.4% and 15.4%; cannabis, 9.0%
and 3.8%; stimulants 32.5% and 15.8%; sedatives 11.7%, 4.8%, opioids 25.3% and 7.6%; cocaine was 4.7% and 1.6%; Hallucinogenic substances lifetime prevalence was 6.6% and a current prevalence of 1.4%. The lifetime prevalence for solvent use was 7.4% while current use was 1.6%. There was discordance between the outcome of the self-report and the result of UDT. Many respondents who tested positive for one substance or the other did not self-report ever using the substance. In conclusion, there is discordance between selfreport and results of the UDT. Many students who did not report ever use of psychoactive substances tested positive for substances. This study further emphasized the superiority of UDT over self-report for psychoactive substances among university students. We recommend that whenever suspicion of possible psychoactive substance use is made among university students, UDT should be the method of assessment. UDT is equally encouraged in school clinics and sports centres.

Perceived associated factors with medication use by undergraduate students during examination periods: a qualitative study

2024-06-17T17:20:01+00:00

The prevalence of self-medication among undergraduate students is a significant public health concern. The achievement of high academic performance by university students, who are largely adolescents and young adults underscores the importance of studying for long hours during examination periods. Adolescents, inclined towards risk-taking and experimentation of new behaviours due to adolescence often resort to self-medication, as part of a coping mechanism to deal with academic pressures; to prolong study hours during examination periods. This practice could increase health risks, reduce treatment efficacy, and increase the likelihood of adverse drug reactions. Using an adaptaption of the precedeproceed model, we identified predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors influencing students' medication use during examinations. Through this qualitative and descriptive study at the University of Lagos with face-to-face in-depth interviews, involving 17 participants drawn from the student population on campus, parents and guardians resident on campus, we found age, gender, a weak regulatory framework, peer and family influence, beliefs, marketing, and role models to be contributing factors associated with the selfmedication by students during examination periods. This underscores the need for context specific guidelines to address these factors in the research setting.

Addressing colonial-apartheid legacy and infrastructural barriers in access to substance use disorder treatment in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province

2024-06-17T17:42:19+00:00

Despite the official end of apartheid in 1994, systemic barriers to accessing resources and human rights continue to exist in certain parts of South Africa. One example of this is inadequate access to substance use disorder treatment, which exacerbates the problem.
Substance use disorder is recognised globally as a mulyifactorial health issue, and South Africa's struggle to address this phenomenon is compounded by infrastructural deficits. To gain insight into the problem, a qualitative study was conducted, involving semi- structured interviews and focus group discussions with 15 participants in East London in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The research findings revealed several problems, including a lack of substance use treatment centres, the impact of colonial and apartheid segregation on access to these centres, inadequate human resources for treating substance use disorder, and insufficient financial support for implementing treatment programmes. Inconsistencies in the treatment of substance use disorder pose a threat to the success of policies. The Eastern Cape is among the most neglected areas in terms of resource allocation and access to substance use treatment centres.

Risk factors of polysubstance use disorder and efficacy of harm reduction among adults in street situations in selected cities in Nigeria

2024-06-17T17:53:54+00:00

This study investigated the risk factors and associated consequences of polysubstance drug use disorders among adults in street situations in selected cities in Nigeria and knowledge of psychological intervention of harm reduction among them. There is a dearth of empirical studies among this population as results of previous studies concentrated on inpatient and outpatient populations that are easily accessible to researchers and clinicians, therefore, exploring the lived experience of polysubstance use and knowledge of harm reduction among this population. Direct Field Observation, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), and Indepth Interview (IDI) were used to elicit information from male and female participants aged 25 to 65 years with over 10 years active use of polysubstance drugs. The Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF) Scale was used to measure the overall level of functioning on problem-solving, organisation, and emotional climate. Heavy use of drugs among this population stimulated different behaviours such as intoxication and harm, risky sexual behavior, morbidity and mortality, and increased loss or unstable source of livelihood. Extensive use of different drugs simultaneously and concurrently over a long period of years increased the difficulty of seeking treatment and health-compromisingtibehaviors. This also has great implications for harm reduction and policy that could integrate adults in street situations into treatment modalities.