SUbstance use among Nurses in Ardabil

Abstract: The aim of this study was to obtain an estimate of the prevalence of various substance use among nurses in Ardabil, Iran. 460 nurses were assessed by a confidential questionnaire based on DSM-IV. Response rate was 87%. (81.5% were females and 18.5% males). Mean age of the females was 26.13 and of male:28.66. prevalence of use of all substance was 20.3%. (17.8% of females and 31.1% of males). Rates varied by specialty. only 8% of the nurses reported still using substance. About 11.25% of the subjects (10.12% of females and 16.21% of males) reported using of substance occasionally. some used or were using more than one substance. Prescription-type drugs were the most widely used substance (33.8%). Recreation was the main reason for the substance use. Substance use was correlated positively to male gender and positive family history (p< 0.00005).Certain nursing specialties were more likely than other to be associated with substance use (critical and emergency nursing).Substance use was significantly related to sex: higher among males than female. Prescription-type drugs and cigarette were found to be the most prevalent form of substance use among nurses. There was no report of psychedelics use. These results are, however, different from those studies carried out in the west, although, there is some overlap