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Introduction: Stigmatising people with a history of substance use disorders (PHSUDs) is discriminatory, causes harm by hindering access to health services and promotes relapse. It jeopardises the preservation of Maqasid Al-Shariah, particularly the protection of life and well-being. Experiential education (EE) is a potential strategy to overcome stigma through direct experience with PHSUDs. This study aimed to identify stigmatised views of PHSUD's held by pharmacy students and, in accord with Maqasid Al-Shariah, the effectiveness of EE in changing those views. Materials and methods: Interviews were conducted with seven undergraduate pharmacy students who provided care to PHSUDs through an EE programme. A semi-structured interview guide was used to explore students' perceptions on stigma. Each interview was audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and translated into English. Data were manually sorted and coded using Microsoft Excel 2016 and subjected to thematic analysis. Results: The following themes related to stigma were identified: 1) individuals are to blame 2) moral versus biological views of addiction 3) stereotypes of unpredictability and dangerousness 4) lack of didactic education/training for pharmacy students regarding PHSUDs and 5) lack of face-to-face experiential education with PHSUDs. Less stigma and greater empathy towards PHSUDs were reported post-intervention attributable to increased knowledge about substance abuse and face-to-face interactions with PHSUDs. Conclusion: Pharmacy students have pre-conceived stigmatic views regarding PHSUDs modifiable through experiential education. Contact by pharmacy students with stigmatised patients promotes health care without discrimination as advocated in the teaching of Islam. Future interventions to reduce stigma are required to preserve Maqasid Al-Shariah.

Introduction: Accreditation standards for pharmacy students’ education include the requirement for experiential education (EE) and acknowledge, in building life-long learning skills, the need to develop students’ skills in analysing their practice-based performance. The goal of this qualitative study was to assess students’ ability to reflect on their experience providing face-to-face care to patients with a history of substance use disorders (PHSUDs). Materials and methods: Interviews were conducted with undergraduate pharmacy students who provided care to PHSUDs in an EE programme. An interview guide was used to explore students’ experiences and their perceptions regarding the challenges they encountered, changes in their attitude towards PHSUDs and ways to improve their ability to care for PHSUDs. Data relevant to the study was extracted from interview transcripts, manually sorted and coded using Microsoft Excel and subjected to thematic analysis.  Results: The themes identified were 1) Increased self-confidence in face-to-face interactions with PHSUDs 2) Increased empathy towards PHSUDS 3) Reduction in stigmatised attitudes towards PHSUDs 4) Positive nature of the interactions with PHSUDs 5) Appreciation for the opportunity to apply knowledge in practice 6) Recognition of the need for improved communication skill training 7) Recognition of the need to improve training for dealing with unexpected questions and situations. Conclusion: Pharmacy students demonstrated reflective skills in identifying multiple positive learning outcomes stemming from a one-day EE programme involving PHSUDs. In addition, they provided insights useful to faculty in curriculum planning.

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