Sudanese Medical Students’ Perceptions of Psychoactive Substance Use

BACKGROUND: Psychoactive substance use is a significant problem and the perception of physicians and medical students for this problem is important since it may affect their behavior regarding managing patients who suffer from substance-related problems. The objective of this study was to examine the perception of Sudanese medical students regarding psychoactive substance use and its possible associations with sociodemographic factors. METHODS: 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 analyzed using SPSS software. Chi-square test was used to analyze the associations between different factors. FINDINGS: 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. All students knew alcohol and 261 students (88.5%) reported having knowledge about cannabis. Knowledge about cannabis, cocaine, and heroin was more prevalent among female students. Most of the students disagreed with the behavior of substance use, e.g., 94.2% in the case of alcohol. Most students reported that it would be difficult - or even impossible - for them to use psychoactive substances. CONCLUSION: Most of the students perceived use of psychoactive substances to be associated with moderate to severe risk. Female gender and studying secondary school in Sudan were associated with perceiving more risk. Sudanese students' perception of psychoactive substance use seems to be favorable but still increasing awareness is recommended.