Factors Associated With Alcohol Use Among Medical Students at Ridgeway Campus, University of Zambia

  • Esther Munalula Nkandu
  • Chinyemba Zangata
  • Dorcas Foto
  • Jessy Kamanga
  • Wana Gift Njapawu
  • Axon J Lungu
  • Joseph Mbulo
Keywords: alcohol use, medical students, rigdeway campus, university of zambia

Abstract

Background: Alcohol use among students has been found to be significantly associated with suicide ideation, physical fighting, and poor academic performance. Consequently, the regular use of alcohol during the adolescence and early adulthood stage can be seen as a risk factor or an indicator of possible future health and social problems. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with alcohol use among medical students at Ridgeway campus. Methodology: The study enrolled 259 medical students at Ridgeway campus who completed an anonymous, self-applied questionnaire. SPSS version 20 was used to verify the correlation between alcohol use and variables. The significance level was set at 95% (p>0.05) interval. Results: Alcohol consumption was 60%. Year of the study was related to alcohol use. Additionally, other related factors were boredom (p<0.001), forget problems (p=0.001) and improvement of academic performance (p=0.018). Conclusion: The results obtained are useful for developing strategies for alcohol prevention among this population. Training with tips on how to deal with stress, early detection of alcohol use, provision of scientific information, programs for professors/tutors and others and an increase in the time dedicated to disciplines that discuss alcohol use.
Published
2020-10-09