• Chukwuma Ugochukwu Okeafor and Irene Esu.
• University of Port Harcourt, Department of Neuropsychiatry.
• Afr Health Sci. 2023 Sep 1; 23 (3): 714723714-723.

BackgroundWorld Health Organization ranks substance abuse as one of the top twenty health risk factors. It poses a serious public health crisis with a significant burden for affected individuals, families and health systems. This study aimed to identify the spectrum and pattern of substance use among patients receiving rehabilitative services.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional design involving 190 patients receiving rehabilitative care for substance use in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), a validated and reliable tool was employed to obtain data on substance use. Statistical analyses were performed at P<0.05.ResultsThe male to female ratio was 4:1. A higher proportion of the patients were within 18-35years category (81.6%; n=155). The commonly used substances were alcohol (90.5%; n=172), cannabis/marijuana (43.7%; n=83), prescription opioids (28.9%; n=55). cigarette (25.8%; n=49), and street opioids (15.8%; n=30). The prevalence of poly substance use was 68.4%(n=130). Age(p=0.033) and sex (being male) (p=0.002) were predictors for number of substances used.ConclusionAlmost all the patients receiving drug rehabilitative service used alcohol, and approximately 7 in 10 used more than one substance. The need to inculcate harm reduction in the management protocol is therefore paramount.© 2023 Okeafor CU et al.

20 keywords...

hide…