https://doi.org/10.4081/hls.2026.14869
Knowledge, attitude and practice of substance use among Debre Tabor University health science students, South Gonder Zone, Amhara, Ethiopia 2025
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Accepted: 23 September 2026
Published: 8 October 2026
Substance use among university students has emerged as a key public health concern, especially among health science students who are expected to be future healthcare providers and role models. Despite their expected role in health promotion and counseling, they may also be exposed to substance use due to academic pressure, social influences, and easy accessibility. However, recent and comprehensive evidence on their Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) toward substance use in Ethiopian universities remains limited. An institution based cross sectional study was conducted among 300 health science students from September 10 to October 20, 2025. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling with proportional allocation by department. Data were collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 27. Binary logistic regression identified factors associated with substance use, with statistical significance set at p ≤ 0.05. Among 300 students, 84.7% had good knowledge of substance use and 72.0% had positive attitudes toward its prevention, while 32.3% reported engaging in substance use practice. Female students were less likely to practice substance use than males (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR = 0.51). Pharmacy (AOR=0.34) and midwifery students (AOR=0.30) had lower odds of substance use than medicine students. Fourth year (AOR=0.22) and sixth year students (AOR=0.03) were less likely to engage in substance use than second-year students. Good knowledge (AOR=0.44) and positive attitudes toward prevention (AOR=0.53) were reduce substance use practice. Male, early years of study, poorer knowledge, and negative attitudes were associated with increased substance use practice. Strengthening university-based health education programs that improve knowledge and foster positive attitudes, particularly targeting male and junior students, may help reduce substance use among future healthcare professionals.
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Ethics Approval
CRediT authorship contribution
Yonas Fentahun Jenberie developed the proposal, designed, involved in data collection, analyzed, writes up and drafted the manuscript. Yenesew Fentahun Gebrie was involved in revising the proposal and design of the study tools and revised the analysis and help the preparation of the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Data Availability Statement
The primary data set collected from students and analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author.
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