Unveiling the Intriguing World of Nonprescription Opioid Use: A Captivating Exploration at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (Sphmmc) and Zewditu Memorial Hospital (Zmh), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Awoke Mihretu | |
| dc.contributor.author | Melaku Tesfaye | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-08-12T19:41:28Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-08-12T19:41:28Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-04-19 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: Opioids are psychoactive chemicals, including those that are synthetic, semi-synthetic, and naturally occurring. They are prescribed by doctors to treat both acute and chronic pain. Problematic Opioid use can be associated with different negative consequences including addiction, overdose death, and infectious diseases like Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) associated with injectable opioid use, as a result of repeated use or sharing of injection. In Ethiopia, there is a lack of understanding regarding the non-medical use of opioids. Objectives: This study mainly aimed to explore the experiences of opioid users for non prescription purposes at SPHMMC & ZMH, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: The study particularly employed a phenomenological qualitative design triangulated by descriptive-method study design. A total of 16 participants for the qualitative study were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data were also gathered through semi-structured interviews and reviewing of three years of opioid users of the hospital data records. Thematic analysis method and descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the qualitative and quantitative data respectively. Result: In the quantitative data a total of 47 opioid users were found from both hospitals, with the most prominent number 40 (85.1%) being male, single 35 (74.5%), a first degree in education 22 (46.8) health professional 20 (42.6%). Regarding the patterns of use; the majority 31 (65.96%) of participants were using only one type of opioid with a higher percentage of tramadol use 18 (38.3%), 16 (34.04%) were using at least two types, the majority 36 (76.6%) of them use opioids in a daily basis. 24 (51.06%) of participants were polysubstance users. In the qualitative findings, 5 themes and 15 subthemes were emerged. Risky opioid use patterns were identified, such as bingeing, mixing with other substances, and repeated relapses with increased dose and frequency. Participants turned to opioids for reasons like medical prescriptions, recreation, experimentation, and expected benefits such as improved work performance and concentration. Prolonged use aimed to relieve psychosocial distress from iii bereavement, breakup, civil war exposure, unemployment, etc. Withdrawal symptoms, pleasure retention, and perceived performance enhancement were factors. Due to financial constraints and prescription prohibition, users employ various strategies, including illegal acts, to access opioids. Non-medical opioid use can lead to social, psychological, financial, and functional impairments. Participants' motivations for quitting opioids may vary, with obstacles like lack of awareness of services, perceived detox limitations, and financial constraints hindering treatment-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Both the qualitative and quantitative findings found non prescribed opioid use in Ethiopia. This finding also indicated the seriousness of opioid misuse and its adverse consequences on different life aspects of the users | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/6446 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | |
| dc.title | Unveiling the Intriguing World of Nonprescription Opioid Use: A Captivating Exploration at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (Sphmmc) and Zewditu Memorial Hospital (Zmh), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | |
| dc.type | Thesis |