Prevalence and correlates of substance use among health care students in Nepal: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Substance use among health care students threatens professional standards and the delivery of quality services, potentially placing the public at risk. Therefore, our study aims to determine the prevalence and correlates associated with substance use among Nepalese health care students. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered health professional questionnaire was conducted among pharmacy, nursing, and public health students at three universities in Nepal in 2010. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 407 respondents (response rate, 82%) with a mean age of 22 years (standard deviation = 3.71). The overall lifetime prevalence of substance use (i. e., illegal use of prescription drugs and illegal drug use) was 42.8%. Marijuana was the most commonly used illegal drug (8.8%) and minor opiates (e.g., codeine cough syrups) were the most widely used illegal prescription drugs (32.4%). Substance use was directly associated with cigarette smoking, peer influence, and heavy drinking. In addition, respondents reported some major and minor dysfunctions because of their substance use. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of substance use among health care students at the three universities in Nepal was high. Peer influence, cigarette smoking, and heavy drinking were significant predictors of substance use. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-017-4980-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.