Sudanese Medical Students’ Perceptions of Psychoactive Substance Use

Psychoactive substance use is a significant problem and the perception of physicians andmedical students for this problem is important since it may affect their behavior regarding managing patientswho suffer from substance-related problems. The objective of this study was to examine the perception ofSudanese medical students regarding psychoactive substance use and its possible associations withsociodemographic factors.

This cross-sectional study was carried out at a private Sudanese medical school in Khartoum,Sudan. A self-reporting questionnaire was distributed to all consenting students and data were analyzedusing SPSS software. Chi-square test was used to analyze the associations between different factors.

Three hundred and seventeen students participated in the study, with response rate = 75.5%.Among them, 113 (35.9%) were men. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of age was 21.5 ± 4.2 years. Allstudents knew alcohol and 261 students (88.5%) reported having knowledge about cannabis. Knowledgeabout cannabis, cocaine, and heroin was more prevalent among female students. Most of the studentsdisagreed with the behavior of substance use, e.g., 94.2% in the case of alcohol. Most students reported that itwould be difficult - or even impossible - for them to use psychoactive substances.

Most of the students perceived use of psychoactive substances to be associated with moderate tosevere risk. Female gender and studying secondary school in Sudan were associated with perceiving morerisk. Sudanese students' perception of psychoactive substance use seems to be favorable but still increasingawareness is recommended