Qualitative Analysis of Substance Uses Among Wollega University Undergraduate Students, Wollega, Western Ethiopia, 2025: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

Background and Aims: Substance use is a rising public health concern among University students. Nowadays, most university students use substances for different purposes, but it has negative impacts on university students, ranging from social, economic, psychological, and mental problems. This impact, in turn, results in poor academic performance or dropping out of university. There were limited qualitative study designs that explored substance use among university students in Ethiopia, which were used to understand why most students use those substances. So, this study aimed to explore the reasons for substance use among Wollega University undergraduate students, Wollega, western Ethiopia, 2025. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study design was employed from March 25, 2025 to May 2, 2025. Exponential discriminatory snowball sampling and purposive sampling method were used to sample study population. Semi-structured in-depth interview and key informant interview guides in English were created to standardize data gathering by referencing a variety of previously published works. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and imported into qualitative data analysis software, Open Code version 4.03, for coding and analysis. Results: Twenty participants were included, with 13 in-depth interviews and 7 key informant interviews. About six themes emerged about the reasons why the majority of Wollega University students take substances, including: due to sociocultural reasons, educational factors, to alleviate psychological distress, university-related factors, laws, and environmental considerations. Conclusions: The study revealed that most of Wollega university students use substances due to socio-cultural factors, educational reasons, psychological problems, laws, and university-related factors, and environmental factors. Therefore, given the potential for far-reaching consequences, immediate and effective prevention and control strategies are urgently needed to address substance use among students.