Discov Ment Health. 2025 Nov 23. doi: 10.1007/s44192-025-00342-y. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adolescent substance use is a rising public health concern in Ghana, with limited evidence on youth perspectives regarding service availability and access.
OBJECTIVES: This study explores the adolescents’ perspectives on the barriers to accessing substance use services in Northern Ghana.
DESIGN: A qualitative exploratory design was employed.
SETTING: This study was conducted in public senior high school in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region of Ghana.
PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen students aged 12 to 19 years were purposively selected with diversity in age, sex, religion, and residency status.
DATA COLLECTION: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s framework. Trustworthiness was ensured through member checking, peer debriefing, and audit trails.
RESULTS: The study identified several barriers grouped under four themes as follows: stigma, fear and confidentiality concerns, accessibility and affordability challenges, service relevance and adolescent-focused, and peer factors.
CONCLUSION: This study found that adolescents in Northern Ghana face significant barriers to substance abuse service use, shaped by four key themes: stigma and confidentiality concerns, accessibility and affordability challenges, lack of adolescent-friendly services, and peer influence. These barriers, rooted in systemic, structural, and sociocultural contexts, foster mistrust, limit access, and discourage help-seeking. Addressing them requires adolescent-responsive interventions that prioritize confidentiality, affordability, accessibility, and supportive care aligned with young people’s lived experiences.
PMID:41275465 | DOI:10.1007/s44192-025-00342-y
