Resumen de Prevalence and pattern of substance use among internally displaced persons in north-central Nigeria
Kurkat Maigida, Abraham Hassan
Populations displaced by conflicts experience many negative and stressful events that increase the risk of substance use as they try to cope with these experiences. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of substance use among internally displaced persons. A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out among 847 participants aged 18 years and older. It was conducted in six local governments, two each in the Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue States of north-central Nigeria. The national drug survey questionnaire used by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria in 2016 was adopted for use in the collection of data. A total of 25.4 per cent of the participants reported that they had used a substance. Among those participants, 17.5 per cent had used alcohol, 8.1 per cent had used tobacco, 4.8 per cent had used opioids, and less than 1 per cent had used cannabis, tranquillizers, amphetamines, hallucinogens or solvents. Substance use disorder was found in 4.5 per cent of the participants, with alcohol use accounting for 36.8 per cent of the disorders, tobacco use for 33 per cent, tramadol use for 10.5 per cent and cannabis use for 5 per cent.
Because substance use among internally displaced persons in north-central Nigeria is an emerging issue of significance to public health, substance use prevention programmes need to be integrated into services provided to internally displaced persons in order to help curb this growing problem.
