Abstract:
T
hese days, in Ethiopia, khat chewing
is one of the widely spreading public health problems
affecting the most productive segment of the
population. The health implications of khat chewing
among students are strongly linked with poor mental,
physical and social performances. However, the
national magnitude of khat chewing and the associated
factors among Ethiopian students are unknown.
Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis
will answer the national prevalence of khat chewing
and the associated factors among students in Ethiopia.
Methods
P
ublished primary relevant articles will be
accessed using various databases, such as Medline,
PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus. Other electronic search
engines, for instance, Google Scholar and Google,
will be used. Furthermore, additional studies will
be collected by communicating with the author(s)
and following the references of relevant articles. To
select eligible studies, the Joanna Briggs Institute
quality appraisal checklist will be used. The Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-
Analyses checklist will be followed to keep the
scientific rigour of the study. Heterogeneity between
studies will be examined through forest plot and I
2
heterogeneity tests. To identify influential studies,
sensitivity analysis will be done. For substantial
heterogeneity (I
2
>50%), the DerSimonian and Laird
random-effects model will be employed. Subgroup
analyses will be conducted using the random-effect
model. Moreover, small studies’ publication bias will
be checked by funnel plots and objectively by Egger’s
regression test. If in case Egger’s test was found to be
statistically significant (p<0.05), trim and fill (Duval and
Tweedie) analysis will be performed. The presence of
association will be declared using p≤0.05 and OR with
corresponding 95%
C
I.
Ethics and dissemination
Since the intention of the
stud
y is to describe earlier primary studies qualitatively
and pool the results of those articles, ethical clearance will
not be a concern. The results of the study will be published
in a reputable peer-reviewed journal and presented at
different scientific research conferences. It will also be
disseminated to academic as well as other concerned
institutions.
