A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 15 – March 20, 2012. The study was conducted in Gamo-Gofa zone which is located about 505 km south west from Addis Ababa, about 275 km from Awassa, the capital of the southern nations, nationalities and peoples region. According to the 2007 census result it has a population of 1,595,570 and of this 794,485 were males and 801,085 were females. The study population was all youths attending HIV testing and counseling centers in public health facilities during the data collection period.
Sampling procedure
Young subjects (15 to 24 years of age) were recruited by stratified sampling technique using clients of three hospitals and health centers offering HIV testing and counseling services.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Youths attending HIV testing and counseling centers were included in the study and those having complete hearing problem and unable to communicate with sign language were excluded.
Sample size determination
A total sample size of 410 were determined by using the formula of single population proportion estimation ( n = Zα/22 p(1-p) / w2) with the following parameters; proportion of khat use 41% which is taken from a previous study conducted in other parts of Ethiopia [1], 5% margin of error, 95% confidence interval and by adding 10% non-response.
Data collection
Data were collected about khat use (yes/no), last year use, last month use, and a variety of socio-demographic variables, including income and profession.
Operational definition
A study participant was considered as ever having been a chewer if he/she responds yes to the question ‘Have you ever chewed khat in your life?’ Then follow up questions were employed to collect information such as khat chewing in the past one year. Current khat use is defined as use of khat at least once during the past 30 days before the survey and these operational definitions were adopted from the Ethiopian demographic and health survey 2011.
Data processing and analysis
Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and proportion was used to describe the study population in relation to relevant variables. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the presence and degree of association between dependent and independent variables.
Ethical consideration
Ethical clearance was obtained from ethical review board of Arba-Minch University and permission to conduct the study in each health facility was secured from the respective health institutions. Verbal informed consent was obtained from each study participant and written consent from the parents or legal guardians of participants less than 18 years.