Introduction: Institutions of learning are in a unique position to promote the health and safety of young people and help them establish proper lifelong health behavior patterns. Since students spend most of their time in a year pursuing education, institutions of learning should avail health services to students through institution-based health service facilities. On the other hand, the students should utilize the health services so as to have good health that enables them to attain an excellent academic performance. Objective: To assess the utilization of Makerere University hospital health care services by the University students so as to contribute to the knowledge required in the planning and operation of the University hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, where a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of 384 students. Data was entered in EPI DATA version 3.0, checked and cleaned then transferred to STATA version 13 for univariate analysis. Results: More than three quarters of the students 94.0% (361/384) know about the existence of the University hospital however less than half 41.9% (161/384) have used the services at the hospital during the time they have been at the University since admission. Majority 64.6% (104/161) of those that have utilised the services at the hospital have sought for general medical care. About 60.3% (97/161) of the students were satisfied with the hospital services. However, unavailability of drugs 56.5% (26/46), requirement of student registration with the hospital 36.3% (81/223), discouragement from friends 12.1% (27/223), medical staff/student relationships 6.5% (3/46) and long waiting time 54.4% (25/46) were some of the factors that affected health service utilisation at the hospital as perceived by students. Conclusion: This study highlights the health service utilisation of students that will help to improve the health services offered at the University Hospital and promote health among the students.

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