Browsing by Author "Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)"

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    Assessment and Improvement of Quality of Medical Laboratory Commodity Logistics Management Information Systems in Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College
    (Addis Ababa University, 2015-06) Bilal, Muhe; Teferra, Solomon (PhD); Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background: Laboratory logistics management information system is the management of laboratory commodities in a systematic and standardized way by collecting, processing and utilizing timely logistics data to inform quantification, procurement, storage and distribution of laboratory commodities. Objectives: to assess and improve the quality of medical laboratory commodities of logistics management information system in St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College. Methodology: facility based cross-sectional descriptive study design was conducted from April, 2015 to June, 2015. The data’s were collected using self administered structured questionnaire for quantitative and semi structured interviewee questionnaires was implemented for qualitative findings. Intervention and problem solving mechanism was practiced. Scope of the project: maintaining LMIS to provide quantity and quality of the laboratory commodities that was served and satisfied the community without interruption of the services through the six basic rights of logistics. Significance of the project: is to provide reliable, accurate and manageable with specified period that easily monitored and controlled use of laboratory commodities of stock status. Result: in the selected facility there was a well-functioning logistics management information system for laboratory commodities. Among the total participants 15(83.3%) of the respondents did not have in-service training on LMIS. The frequency of stock out, under stock and over stock of laboratory commodities at the time of assessment were 35.7%, 23.8% and 9.5% respectively. Conclusion: the majority of study participants have no knowledge about LMIS and monitoring the stock status of laboratory commodity. Recommendation: In-service training should provide for laboratory professionals and integration of LMIS to laboratory information system should implement to minimize the gaps.
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    Assessment of magnitude and factors that affect care givers’ disclosure of HIV diagnosis to their HIV infected children in Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2013/2014.
    (Addis Abeba Universty, 2014-05) Negewo, Roman; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background: Most studies conducted on HIV disclosure to infected children report on the challenges experienced by caregivers to disclose HIV status to their HIV infected children. Therefore it‟s essential to look for factors that affect care givers' disclosure of HIV diagnosis to their HIV infected children in these settings. Objective: To assess magnitude and factors affecting care givers' disclosure of HIV diagnosis to their HIV infected children in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted. A study was conducted from February 2014 to April 2014 among 372 primary caregivers of HIV infected children aged 6-15 years in nine health facilities, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data were collected through structured pre tested questionnaire. It consisted of both closed- and open-ended questions. Data were entered into EPI Info version 3.54 and analyzed by using SPSS version 21 for windows. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, median, standard deviation, and range were used to summarize the results. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done. Qualitative study were used to support the quantitative study. Data were summarized by using tables. Results: Based on caregivers reports, 111 (29.8%) of the children knew about their HIV positive status. Marital status of caregivers, age of the child, Caregiver‟s HIV status, those caregivers discuss about disclosure issue with healthcare providers and children who get aid or support from charity organizations. were found to have statistically significant association with disclosure of HIV positive status to HIV infected children at p<0.05 in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Parents or guardians may have a critical need for health education and counseling in order to develop a plan for disclosing to their children. Addressing and scaling up efforts on stigma and discrimination in neighborhoods, communities, and school settings; and developing guideline for disclosure of children with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopian context will increase the rate of disclosure of children‟s HIV positive status.
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    Assessment of Parent-Adolescent Communication on Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters in Awassa Town, Snnpr, Ethiopia
    (Addis Abeba Universty, 2009-07) Fikre, Martha; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Introduction- Sexual and reproductive health problems of adolescents in Ethiopia are rising from time to time. This may be associated with early sexual initiation. Different researches done in different countries had showed that good family communication regarding sexual risk behavior has been positively associated with a delay in sexual activity. There are different factors affecting communication between parents and adolescents regarding SRH issues which are uncovered. Objective- The study is done in an attempt to identify those factors and the influence of parent-adolescent communication on sexual and reproductive health of students Methodology- A cross-sectional descriptive study involving 694 randomly selected students among four high schools in Awassa, Ethiopia. A pretested structured anonymous questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, which was entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 11.0 statistical package. Qualitative information was obtained from four focus group discussions and sixteen peer-to-peer interviews segregated by gender. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to asses the impact of determinants. Results- Two hundred five (30.4%) of the students discussed with either of their parents in at least two topics of SRH. Nevertheless, most of the respondents preferred to discuss SRH issue with their peers/friends than their parents. 7 Mother being literate [OR=1.63; 95%CI=1.17, 2.27], adolescents’ having knowledge on STI, contraceptive, fertile period during menstrual cycle and emergency contraceptive [OR=2.56; 95%CI=1.51, 4.62, OR=2.17; 95%CI= 1.32, 3.53, OR=1.57; 95%CI=1.13, 2.18 and OR=2.58 95%CI=1.84, 3.63 respectively] were associated with communication of parent and adolescents on SRH. The most reported factor that affects communication between parents and adolescents on SRH issues were shamefulness, parents’ lack of knowledge and that the issue is culturally unacceptable. Both males and females were more comfortable to discuss sexual and reproductive health issues with mother. There is significant difference across gender where more females being comfortable discussion with mother [OR=2.37; 95%CI= 1.60, 3.49] Conclusion and recommendation- The overall research finding shows that communication on SRH issues promotes healthy behaviors of adolescent. Nevertheless, there is low communication between parent and adolescent on different SRH issues with different reasons for not discussing. Hence, based on the findings obtained in this study it is recommended that comprehensive family life education (FLE) should be initiated for the students and parents in school, home, religious institution, and health facilities for effective communication to occur on SRH. In addition programs working in ASRH should include parents to address parental influences on adolescents’ reproductive health and work to alleviate those factors which affect communication between parent and adolescents. Additional research needs to explore the influence of parent –adolescent communication on SRH issues on adolescent reproductive health especially using analytical studies.
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    Assessment of quality of Care in Tikur Anbesa Specialized Teaching Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    (Addis Abeba Universty, 2015-06) Workneh, Redeat; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background: Despite the increasing population and unsatisfactory decline of neonatal mortality rate (NMR) less attention was given to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) until recent years where a little effort is being made to improve the services provided. Currently there are 27governmental NICUs; Tikur Anbessa Specialized Teaching Hospital (TASTH) is one of these hospitals which serve as the main referral center. Regardless of the few number of NICUs there is complaints on the quality of care provided which might be due to a variety of reasons that are crucial for the survival of the neonates. Objectives: To assess the quality of care in TASTH, NICU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: Hospital based cross sectional study was used. The study has two categories of participants; primarily mother of the neonates who were available in the NICU during the data collection period and health professionals (n=35) working in the NICU. Sample size of the study on mothers was calculated using single population formula considering 50% prevalence which gives a total 384 participants. The unit was observed using inventory checklist from WHO Hospital Care for Mothers and Newborns: Quality Assessment and Improvement Tool. For the qualitative portion head of the unit (neonatologist), practicing neonatologist and the head nurse were included. Structured questionnaire was adopted from WHO Hospital care for mothers and new-born babies: quality assessment and improvement tool, and they were filled by the date collectors after obtaining an informed consent. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. P value of 0.05 was the cut off point for the level of significance. Adjusted odds ratio was used to show strength of association. Result: The study found that the quality of care that is provided in the neonatal intensive care unit in TASTH is inadequate. Overall service satisfaction was found to be 96.4% and 47.1% for the clients and health professionals respectively. Clients whom their neonates shared bed with others were 6.6 times not satisfied than those clients whom didn’t, AOR (95%CI) 6.612[3.604, 10.109] Health professionals who don’t think that there are a sufficient number of staffs were dissatisfied 3.15 times compared to those who think the number of staff is sufficient. AOR (95%CI) 150[0.050, 5.611] Conclusion and recommendation: Quality administration demands several strategies thus, it is fundamental to identify the problems, aiming at implementing effective actions, and monitoring the processes. The findings from this assessment would assist in scaling up of such units. More over the presence of national guideline which is specific to NICU would be a key to solve the problems associated with quality of care in NICUs.
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    Assessment of Status of Commercial Sex in Females Selling Local Beverage, their Risk Perception towards HIV Infection and Condom Use in Towns of Gojjam
    (Addis Ababa University, 2007-07) Bawoke, Tenaw; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background (problem statement): - Selling local beverages like Araki, Teji and Tella by females is of back long and widely practiced activity in Ethiopia in general and in most towns of Gojjam in particular. And some of these females are practicing commercial sex with their beverage customers most of whom are farmers presumably with low awareness level towards HIV/AIDS compared to urban people. It is assumed that commercial sexual transaction between these females and farmers play significant role for the steadily growing rate of HIV transmission to the rural area. Objective: To assess the status of commercial sex among local beverage selling females and to identify their risk perception towards HIV/AIDS and condom use in selected Gojjam towns. Methods: a cross sectional survey assisted by focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted on 354 randomly selected local beverage sellers in Debre Markos, Dembecha and Finote Selam towns from March 3 – March 10, 2007. A pre-coded, pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used for the quantitative method and FGD was conducted in the three towns for the qualitative method. Results: Fifty nine percent of the studied local beverage selling females (LBSFs) were older than 35 years and all of them were above 15 yeas old at the time of interview. About 46 % of the respondents were illiterates. More than one-forth of the females studied were married before 10 years old, 76 % of them before 18 years old and most (72.3 %) females had no knowledge and consent of their first marriage. Out of the studied 354 LBSFs, 38.7 % (n=137) have ever practiced commercial sex work (CSW) of which 28.5 % (n=39 of the 137 ever practicing CSWs) have interrupted it at the time of interview and 27.7 % (n=98) are still practicing. viii Educational status before local beverage selling, duration of engagement in local beverage selling, age and lack of additional means of income other than local beverage selling have positive significant associations with engagement to commercial sex work. Family, marriage and other socio-economic factors before being engaged in local beverage selling are found to be statistically significant factors for commercial sexual engagement. Ninety nine percent of the study participants and especially 100 % of the FSW participants have knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Sixty five percent of the respondents have described all the three basic programmatically important prevention methods (Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms consistently). Thirty eight percent of the participants have comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS. But 39.6 % of them had at least one misconception (incorrect belief) about HIV transmission. Twenty nine percent of the interviewed females have ever been tested for HIV of which 88 % have taken their results. About 43 % of the studied females have moderate/high and 55.8 % have nil/low risk perception towards HIV infection based on their past risk behaviors. Eighty eight percent of the studied LBSFs (100 % of FSWs) and 63 % of them have knowledge of male condoms and have ever used it respectively. And 65.8 % of the FSWs who have ever used male condoms have used it during their recent sexual contact with their ix paying clients. With in 30 days prior to the day of interview, about half of the commercial sex practicing LBSFs studied have used condoms persistently. Conclusion and recommendation: several family, marriage and other socio-economic related factors before being engaged in local beverage selling are observed playing significant roles for LBSFs to start commercial sex work. And there is high level of unprotected commercial sexual transaction between these CSWs and farmers and other rural community members aggravating the speed of dissemination of HIV infection to the rural Ethiopia. These situations need due attention and rapid remedial intervention by joint efforts of the local government, civil societies and the community itself
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    Assessmentt of Accepttabiilliitty of Proviider-Iniittiiatted HIV Counselliing and Testtiing among Tubercullosiis Pattiientts iin Addiis Ababa
    (Addis Ababa University, 2007-07) Nursien, Ibrahim; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Introduction: Unless patients know their HIV status, they cannot benefit from the available care and treatment options. Therefore, various counseling and testing strategies are needed to identify more HIV infected patients. Objective: This study was conducted in March 2007 to assess acceptability of PIHCT and the factors influencing its uptake among TB patients in Addis Ababa. Methods: Institution-based, cross-sectional study was conducted and 423 TB patients interviewed. A two stage sampling method was used for the selection of study subjects. In the first stage of sampling, six health centers were selected by simple random sampling. In the second stage of sampling, patients were systematically selected in each selected health center. Results: Most of the patients were initiated for HIV testing by their TB treatment supervisor 402(98.5%). Among those who were initiated by their treatment supervisor for HIV testing, 266(66.2%; 95%CI= 61.6-70.8) had under gone HIV testing. Adjusted correlates of acceptability of PIHCT include younger age group (20-24) (AOR=3.0, 95% CI=1.2-8.1), primary education (AOR=2.0, 95% CI=1.04-3.8), secondary and above education (AOR=1.9, 95% CI=1.01-3.7), and recognition that any one should get tested for HIV (AOR=5.5, 95% CI=1.4-21.7). The reported barriers for acceptability of PIHCT include no risk perception for HIV infection 54(40.3%), tested before 53(39.3%), and fear of learning positive result 40 (29.8%) of the study participants. vii Conclusion and Recommendation: The wide spread support, and evidence of high acceptability of PIHCT in this study holds significant promise for the control, prevention and treatment of both HIV/AIDS and TB. Concerted efforts to consolidate, sustain, and scale up PIHCT, however, should be accompanied by intensive IEC on TB /HIV.
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    Designing a Web-Based Blood Bank Information Management System for the National Blood Bank of Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2016-06) Kebede, Gadisa; Abebe, Ermias (PhD); Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background: Many medical advances that have improved the treatment of serious illness and injuries have increased the need for blood transfusion for patients‟ survival to support them through recovery or to maintain their health. Demand for blood is driven by an array of factors that include obstetric hemorrhage, road traffic accidents, armed conflict, sickle cell disease and childhood anemia, malnutrition, Human Immune Virus (HIV), malaria, and parasitic infections. Blood bank is a place where blood is collected from donors, typed and separated into components, stored, and prepared for transfusion to recipients. The blood bank information management system is used to control and manage the overall activities performed in the blood bank centers. Objective: The main objective of this project is to design a web-based blood bank information management system for the National Blood Bank of Ethiopia. Methodology: This project is carried out at National Blood Bank Center, Addis Ababa. The project follows a design science methodology and an object oriented system analysis and design approach to analyze and design the system. In-depth interview, document review and inventory were done to analyze the existing situation. To model the analysis and design of the proposed system Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling techniques is used and both Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTML) and Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is used to develop the system prototype. And My Structured Query Language (MySQL) database management system is used to design the prototype database. Results: All the system‟s processes and its boundary were identified and described by using use case diagram. Eight processes with their corresponding actors were identified for the system. The flow of the process were presented using activity diagrams. The object model were described by using class diagram. And finally, the system prototype was developed for the user interface testing. The results of the user interface testing shows that User test for the system prototype was done and it shows that 75% of the participants in the evaluation and testing has shown positive attitude and response for the system usability. Conclusion: This project shows only the system prototype of the blood bank information management system. The prototype can be developed through iterative process along with users‟ feedback. From the user test for the system prototype it is identified that some parts need to be improved. Recommendation: It is recommended for future researchers to implement the complete web-based blood bank information management system by enriching it with additional functionalities. Such functionality may include: integration with Smart Care, adding a knowledge based component, Short Message Service (SMS) based promotion.
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    Determinants of Age at First Birth in Goro Wereda: Welkite Town
    (Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Wolde, Habtegebriel; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    A WOlllOll'sfirsl birth is aile oflhe 1110.11 sigllificallt evellts ill her life. 111 lIlallY paris of Elh iopia Ihe lIIediall age at jirst birlh was too yOllllg (below 18). nll's cross-secliollal survey Ivas COli dueled ill March 2009 at Cora Woreda, We/kite Tawil, SNNPR, 10 exalllille Ihe lIIediall age at givillg the jirst birlh alld ils' deterlllillams. Both qllaillitative olld qualitative data were employed to ullderlake Ihis sludy. For Ihe quaillitative sectioll, a stalldardized questiollilaire was prepared while ill-depth illterview alld Focus Croup Discussiolls (FCDs) were cOllducled 10 collecl qualiTative dala. A lotal of 423 womell ill Ihe age rallge 15 10 49 years had parlicljJated ill the study. Thefilldillg revealed that, the mediall age at givillg thejirst birth ill Wolkite tOWIl was 19 years of age. The logistic regressioll slatistic illdicated that age al jirst marriage, age at jirst sex, cOlltraceptive use and educatioll exhibited statistically significallt impact 011 Ihe 1II0thers' age at givillg the jirst birth. Correspolldillgly, the chi-square test had also showil that, age at marriage, age at jirst sex, cOlltraceptive use, educatioll alld work status of the women in Welkite town had a sigllificallt (p<0.001) relatiollship with the age at giving the jirst birth. Variation iJ/ age at jirst sexual illtercourse, marriage, educatioll, and the extellt of cOlltraceptioll are foulld to be the deterlllillallt factor all the age of women at jirst birth. it therefore, girl's enrollllent at higher educatioll alld target fa lllily plannillg prograllls. Key wordsAge at first birthAge at first maITiageCensoringLogistic regressionSocio-mographic variablesSocio-economic va riables
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    Examination of the Validity of the Denver II Child Development Measurement Tool among Children 24-36 Months Against the Gold Standard of Bayley Scale Iii Edition in Butajira, Ethiopia
    (Addis Abeba University, 2017-06) Tesfayohannes, Helen; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background: Globally there were 249 million children under the age of five years who were at risk of poor development in 2010. Ethiopia is one of the top ten countries with children at high risk of developmental problems. To assess and monitor the developmental status of children, there is a need for reliable and valid measures. The Bayley Scales of Infant and toddler Development III (BSID III) tool is a rigorous measure of child development that has been widely used across different cultural settings. However, the BSID III is resource intensive necessitating the need for simpler tool for large-scale use. Objective: To evaluate the concurrent validity of Denver II in assessing the development of children aged 24 to 36 months who lived in the Butajira Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), using the BSID III as a gold standard. Methods: The study design was a community-based, cross-sectional concurrent validation design. The study was conducted in the Butajira HDSS, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional state on children aged 24-36months who were selected randomly from a sampling frame obtained from the HDSS. Data were collected from March- April 2017. The Denver II and BSID III were administered by independent groups of trained and reliable data collectors who were masked to the status on the other measure. Order of administration was randomized. STATA version 14 was used for analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the Denver II against the BSID III were calculated. Result: A total of 121 children age 24-36 months with their caregivers participated in this study. The response rate was 91.6%. Sixty (49.6%) of the children were male. One hundred seventeen (96.7%) children lived with their biological parents, 3 (2.5%) lived with relatives and 1 (0.8%) lived with unrelated care takers. Using BSID III as the gold standard, the sensitivity of Denver II was 99% for fine motor, 80% for gross motor and 79% for language subscales. The specificity was 12% for fine motor, 11% for gross motor and 39% for language subscales. Total scores on the Denver II had a correlation coefficient of 0.26 for gross motor, 0.42 for fine motors and 0.57 for language subscales with the corresponding BSID III subscales. Conclusion and recommendation: It is important to be able to detect developmental delays in a timely manner so that early intervention can support the child to fulfill their developmental potential. In this rural Ethiopian setting, the Denver II showed potential as a brief screen for developmental delay, with high sensitivity; however, the low specificity means that there will be many false positives. This may limit application of the tool in routine settings. Further studies of adaptation and of short child development measurements are needed.
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    How Friendly are the Reproductive Health Services of Model Youth Centers in Addis Ababa
    (Addis Ababa University, 2007-06) Tadesse, Zinaw; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background:- Youth sexuality and reproductive health are generally not well addressed. As a result, problems like unwanted pregnancy, complications of unsafe abortion, and STI including HIV/AIDS remain very common, particularly, in the developing countries such as Ethiopia. Objective and methodology:-A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the friendliness of reproductive health services provided by model youth centers in Addis Ababa. The Assessments had focused on facility inventory, providers’ attitude, interaction of providers with youth and service characteristics. Observation, key informants interview, focus group discussions and exit interviews were the methods used and Data was collected from February to March, 2007. Result:- Currently, Reproductive Health services like family planning counseling, contraceptives provisions, pregnancy test, STI diagnosis and treatment, VCT and other related counseling are being delivered by the youth centers. More female clients were using the services during the time of data collection than their male counterparts and 44.8% of youth centers clients were found to be out of the primary target age group (>25 years). The utilization of the existing services by the age group 10-14 was found to be very law. Majority of the clients sought VCT services (52.6%) and only around 18 % of the total interviewed clients came for contraceptives. About 9 and 30% of the respondents were asked to bring parental and partner permission respectively for service utilization. Approximately 89%, 78.7% and 90% of the respondents agreed in getting completed services, in providers’ confidential handling and short waiting time respectively. Overall 92.7% of the clients were satisfied with the services they had received. Discussion and Conclusion: - on the bases of the above findings one can concluded that addressing early adolescent age group (10-14 yrs) was overlooked by the centers. Sub optimal services friendliness was observed in placing and using appropriate guidelines and polices regarding youth friendly service provision. In addition, RH service providers of the centers had not received any training in respect to delivering friendly services to youth. The need of vii intensifying reproductive health educations and addressing early adolescents (10-14) should be the priority concern of the centers and peer education is the most effective tool identified
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    Prevalence of Depression among Adolescents and Association of Parental Neglect on Depression in Governmental Preparatory Schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    (Addis Abeba Universty, 2017-06) Seid, Senait; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    Background (problem statement): Although depression is one of the major diseases that cause failure to socialize among children and adolescents, it is often neglected and not given adequate parental attention. Objective: To assess the prevalence of depression and association of parental neglect on depression among adolescents in governmental Preparatory schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2016-2017G.C Method: A school-based cross- sectional descriptive survey design was conducted among a total of 17,338 governmental Preparatory school students in Addis Ababa, where a sample of 700 students were randomly selected from five different schools from March to April by means of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire Scale. Collected data was entered into Epi Info 7. Frequencies, crude odds ratio and logistic regressions were analyzed by Stata 14. Result: The prevalence of depression was found to be 205(29.29%) among the 700 participants between the age group of 17-19 of which 292(41.71%) had mild, 155(22.14%) had moderate, 44(6.29%) had moderately severe depressive symptoms whereas the remaining 6(0.86%) had severe depressive symptoms. The study also showed that 372(53.13%) respondents have reported to have experienced one or more aspects of parental neglect while growing up. Among those respondents who had parental neglect, the study showed that 146(39.3%) of them were depressed. There were strong associations between depression and sex and parental neglect Conclusion and Recommendation: Results of this study indicated there was sizeable depression prevalence among adolescents in governmental Preparatory schools and also identified those adolescents who experience parental neglect while growing up were more likely to be depressed. Schools should have a counseling service with a health professional for students and further studies with a wider population should be conducted as well
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    Socio Demographic Correlates of Substance Use and Sexual Behavior of Urban Youth of Northern Ethiopia: A Particular Study of Mekele City Dr. Eshetu
    (Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Ameha, Agazi; Betre, Mulugeta (PhD)
    BaCkgrOU!d: Substance use, more importantly abuse, is one of the many riskfactors that endanger tl; life of yquth. It is perpetuated by inadequate social support, lower socioeconi) mic sit , ation,: poor or weak family background, negative peer pressure and lack of alternative amenities. Khat, alcohol and combined use of both substances are widely practiced by youth and'young adults in Ethiopia. Literatures indicate that substance use increases the vulnerability : of users to unprotected sexual behavior leading them to become victims of HIVIAIDS STI, unwanted pregnancy and many other consequences. I I Obje~tive: r.~meas\lre tre magnitude, identifY the socio demographic correlates of substances use (Khat an Alcohol)' and examine their relation to sexual behavior of Adolescents, youth and )ioung a ,ults (15-29) in Mekelle town. : Methods: A descriptive cross sectional survey was conductedfrom 1110212009 to 171021200A among 535 PWticipants (15-29 of age) together with FGD and in-depth interviews in Mekele, the capital city of the Tigray Regional State of FDR of Ethiopia. The data was coded; entered, and analyzedi r ' using:SPSS version 15.Focus group discussion, In-depth interview and transect wa!kresu!ts ril a!.~o summarized, categorized and incorporated thematically into the thesis repo~t. ': , I I Result: The study r:evealed that 17.6 %, 42.3% and 13% of the participants do have Khat chewing, alcohol drinking and smoking behaviors respectively, though at different level of intakes. Male; 15-19, unemployed and unmarried are the largest share of the users in all kinds of substances studied here. Using of alcohol and khat has strong association with risky sexual behavior (~4 0.05). Multiple use of substance i.e. persons who use both khat and alcohol consecutivel~ have very 'strong association with risky sexual behavior (P< 005). Peer pressure, religiosity arlp open dis,cussion with family members contributes to shape the substance use behavior of the participants. ,, ConJlusion: ~he study finding shows that the most important factors for being exposed to khat I and alcohol ~se are weak parent-child discussion, peer pressuring for substance use, low religiOUS commitments and being unmarried. The study also revealed that being exposed to khat andalcghol u~e an,d more importantly combined use of both substances in turn leads to risky sexual Behavior. Even though ,the consequences o/risky sexual behavior is not the scope of th,e study] different literatures have affirmed it leads to different reproductive health diseases and)or problems such as HIVIAIDS, STD, Abortion and unintended pregnancy. Not with ~tandin~ to the need for further research on the link between khat and alchol use with reprdductive (lealth' problems; the result indicates Youth-specific interventions to reduce the likelihood of~xposure of adolescent, youth and young adults to khat and alcohol in order to , I prev~nt them from Reproductive health problem, among others.