摘要
Consumption of alcohol and other alcoholic beverages is widespread in Uganda and it is the highest per capita consumer of alcohol in Africa. Many households are involved in informal alcohol production for income purposes, resulting in alcohol being easily available. Alcohol is consumed mostly by adults and young adults, waragi （a local brew） being high on the menu. There is a high prevalence of alcohol consumption at Makerere University so in our study we set out to assess the knowledge about dangers of alcohol consumption among these students. It was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The target population was undergraduate students of Makerere University. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions. We interviewed 435 University students, 236 （54.3%） males and 199 （45.7%） females. Median age was 21 years, similar across gender. There were more participants from year one to three compared to years four and five. Majority of the students were consuming alcohol 242 （55.6%）, 49 （11.3%） had stopped and 144 （33.1%） had never consumed alcohol. A higher proportion of males consumed alcohol compared to females; 60.2% and 50.2% respectively. Some reasons given for alcohol consumption were： peer pressure, coping with stressful situations, celebration and the need for adventure. The students were knowledgeable about the dangers of alcohol consumption like liver disease, violence, mental illness, cancer, diabetes mellitus, financial loss and death. Despite the vast knowledge about the dangers of alcohol consumption, some students were reluctant to stop consuming alcohol, so fighting this habit in this population is important. Parents and students need to be mindful of where to reside so as to avoid bad company. Some of the students who stopped consuming alcohol attributed it to concern from a relative, friend or health worker, so involving the entire public could go a long way in the fight against alcohol abuse as well as strict regulation of physical availability of alcohol on the university campus.Abstract： Consumption of alcohol and other alcoholic beverages is widespread in Uganda and it is the highest per capita consumer of alcohol in Africa. Many households are involved in informal alcohol production for income purposes, resulting in alcohol being easily available. Alcohol is consumed mostly by adults and young adults, waragi （a local brew） being high on the menu. There is a high prevalence of alcohol consumption at Makerere University so in our study we set out to assess the knowledge about dangers of alcohol consumption among these students. It was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The target population was undergraduate students of Makerere University. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions. We interviewed 435 University students, 236 （54.3%） males and 199 （45.7%） females. Median age was 21 years, similar across gender. There were more participants from year one to three compared to years four and five. Majority of the students were consuming alcohol 242 （55.6%）, 49 （11.3%） had stopped and 144 （33.1%） had never consumed alcohol. A higher proportion of males consumed alcohol compared to females; 60.2% and 50.2% respectively. Some reasons given for alcohol consumption were： peer pressure, coping with stressful situations, celebration and the need for adventure. The students were knowledgeable about the dangers of alcohol consumption like liver disease, violence, mental illness, cancer, diabetes mellitus, financial loss and death. Despite the vast knowledge about the dangers of alcohol consumption, some students were reluctant to stop consuming alcohol, so fighting this habit in this population is important. Parents and students need to be mindful of where to reside so as to avoid bad company. Some of the students who stopped consuming alcohol attributed it to concern from a relative, friend or health worker, so involving the entire public could go a long way in the fight against alcohol abuse as well as strict regulation of physical availability of alcohol on the university campus.
