A Cross Sectional Study to Assess Prevalence, Pattern,Trend and Impact of Substance Abuse among Medical Students

Abstract

Background: Substance abuse remains a covert yet well known phenomenon among medicos and medical practitionersglobally, and Substance abuse assumes special significance among the medical students as they are the future medicalpractitioners and have a potential role in treating and counselling[4] the patients of substance abuse disorder. Medicaleducation has always been regarded as highly stressful[5]. Although, only the academic minded youth in the society tendto be selected for medical education, the stressful academic environment can exert a negative effect on the psychologicaland physical well being of medical students. The doctors are vulnerable to Substance abuse due to their ready accessibilityto the substance .Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 232 medical students of Karnataka Institute Of Medical Sciencesand various other medical colleges of Karnataka with the help of a structural questionnaire .Conclusion: It is observed that majority of the participants have adequate knowledge and practices regarding substanceabuse. But some fraction of them indulged in substance abuse despite knowing their ill effects. They use various substancessuch as alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes in various forms such as powders, inhalants, injections, liquid forms etc. Howevertrend towards increasing proportion of substance abuse was observed among students of medical field.The findingssuggest that substance abuse in medical students frequently precipitates severe lapses in professionalism and too oftenendangers the life of not only the students who are using it but also the life of peers and others they may care for/treatin the future.