Use of illicit drugs between nursing academics: a literature review

Abstract

In recent decades, consumption of illicit substances has become a concern of society, a public health problem due to the high incidence of social problems related to its use and the risks to users' health. The transition period to the university is a time of vulnerability to exposure to drugs, thus, academics have the first contact with some kind of substance at that stage. The objective of this study was to investigate what has been produced in the literature on the use of drugs among nursing students in Brazil. It is a study with a quantitative approach, of type literature review. We used the descriptors: "Nursing, Drugs and Academics" and the databases Virtual Health Library (VHL), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) for articles search. A total of 149 publications were found and, after analytical reading, a sample of 10 articles was developed to develop the study. As a result, it was observed that the prevalence of illicit drug use is more predominant among male students, in general, but the female sex is higher among the participants, the difference is due to the high prevalence of women in the Nursing course . The age group most found in the studies is 18 to 30 years of age and the drugs most commonly used by academics are marijuana and cocaine. According to the studies presented, the consumption of illicit drugs directly affects the life of nursing students, reinforcing it as a serious public health problem.