New Psychoactive Substances: Awareness and Attitudes of Future Health Care Professionals in Serbia

Jovin, V Mijatović; Skoko, Nina; Tomas, Ana; Živanović, Dejan; Sazdanić, Darija; Gvozdenovic, Nemanja; Vejnović, Ana-Marija

doi:10.3390/ijerph192214877

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The acquisition of a high level of knowledge and awareness regarding psychoactive substances is crucial for healthcare professionals, especially those in the medical eld, as they play a vital role in addressing such cases within the community. Many studies have consistently identi ed knowledge gaps among medical students, highlighting the pressing need to prioritize this subject in medical school curricula [19,20]. Furthermore, research has underscored the existence of knowledge gaps among physicians, emphasizing their need for accessible and up-to-date medical resources pertaining to emerging substances [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of medical students towards designer drugs in Cairo university: a cross-sectional study

Sara,

Attia,

Mohammed

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Designer drugs, which are psychoactive substances with ever-changing compositions, pose a significant challenge in terms of detection and treatment within the community. Given that medical students will play a crucial role as future doctors, there is a greater need for them to acquire knowledge about these substances. A total of 614 medical students participated in the study survey. In terms of knowledge level, 76.3% of students were familiar with synthetic marijuana, 70% with strox, and 53.3% with crystal myth. Social media platforms served as the primary source of knowledge for 70% of students, followed by friends (54%) and TV (49%). Regarding student perceptions, the majority (90%) believed that taking designer drugs is prohibited by religion, social norms, and the law. Additionally, 90% of students agreed that social media platforms are effective in increasing awareness about the risks of designer drugs, although more than 37% acknowledged that social media reports could potentially increase curiosity to try these substances. While only 20.4% had encountered patients using designer drugs, approximately 92% expressed a desire for more information on these substances to better fulfill their duty of raising awareness in society (87%). Findings of this study bring attention to the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of medical students at Cairo University regarding the issue of designer drugs. While their knowledge level is generally acceptable, participants expressed a need for more information, highlighting the importance of incorporating additional education on designer drugs into the medical curriculum.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of medical students towards designer drugs in Cairo university: a cross-sectional study

Sara,

Attia,

Mohammed

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Evaluating awareness and attitudes of future HCPs in Serbia regarding NPS, Mijatović Jovin et al in the most recent paper emphasized the necessity for improving theoretical and clinical lectures about NPS for prospective doctors in the context of their future role in the prevention and treatment of NPS overdose and addiction ( 17 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthetic cannabinoids awareness among patients with opioid use disorder in Serbia – A survey based cross-sectional pilot study

Jovin

Dickov²,

Ratković³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

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IntroductionThere is limited data on the awareness and use of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) in high-risk population in Serbia, despite SCs becoming more and more common at illicit drug market.AimThis pilot study aimed to examine the awareness and prevalence of use of SCs in patients with an opioid-use disorder and to identify patient characteristics and other factors associated with SCs use.Patients and methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at the Clinic for Psychiatry, Clinical Center Vojvodina, Serbia, the largest tertiary health care institution in this region of the country. All patients hospitalized due to the treatment of opioid dependence during November and December 2017 were included (response rate 100%), and filled-out an anonymous questionnaire specifically developed for the purpose of this study. Differences between patients reporting SCs use and those who did not were compared using chi-square test with values of p < 0.05 were considered significant.ResultsOut of 64 patients (median age 36.37 years), one third (32.81%) reported using SCs. Socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects were not associated with SCs use. There were differences in the most common sources of information reported between the SCs users and non-users. Majority of SCs users (76.0%) were informed about SCs through friends, compared with just 26.0% of non-users (<0.001). Nearly all study participants (93.8%) were daily tobacco users. The share of respondents reporting alcohol and marihuana use was significantly higher among the SCs users (52.0% vs. 20.9%, p = 0.011 and 15.6% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.015), respectively. Higher share of SCs users used multiple psychoactive substances (38.1% vs. 16.3%), and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.047). The most commonly reported adverse effect of SCs among users included dry mouth (81.0%), trouble thinking clearly (52.4%) and panic attacks (52.4%).ConclusionUnderstanding the awareness and use of SCs among high-risk drug users, as well as associated factors can help improve substance-use disorder treatment in our setting. Educational activities targeting public are urgently needed to raise awareness on SCs, considering that social contacts are the main sources of information on SC for this vulnerable population. Users of SCs have also reported using other psychoactive substances more often, and this calls for a holistic approach addressing multiple factors to improve substance-use treatment in our setting.

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New Psychoactive Substances: Awareness and Attitudes of Future Health Care Professionals in Serbia

Cited by 2 publications

References 30 publications

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of medical students towards designer drugs in Cairo university: a cross-sectional study

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of medical students towards designer drugs in Cairo university: a cross-sectional study

Synthetic cannabinoids awareness among patients with opioid use disorder in Serbia – A survey based cross-sectional pilot study

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