RESUMO
The use of illicit drugs among young people is a growing social problem in Japan. All healthcare professionals are expected to play a role in preventing drug abuse; thus, it is important to give lectures to paramedical students not only to acquire accurate knowledge about illicit drugs but also to promote their self-awareness as future health care workers. To evaluate effective education for drug abuse prevention, we conducted an awareness survey of students in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University and the College of Healthcare Management, Fukuoka. Over 90% of students were affected by drug abuse resistance education in elementary, junior high, and high schools. According to this, most of the students tended to have an understanding of health hazards such as central nervous system toxicity. A normative consciousness of avoiding drug usage was high but in response to dealing with friends involved in drug abuse, 14.5% of students answered “it depends on their decision” and 9.1% answered “no idea.” The reasons for drug abuse given included easy availability (63.6%), fear of exclusion from the group (60.0%), and escaping distress (41.8%). The nature of this problem in young people might be attributed to their relationship with family or friends. In this survey, we obtained information regarding knowledge and awareness of drug abuse among paramedical students. We think that it is necessary to focus the education on understanding of factors leading to the use of illicit drugs, such as psychological problems, rather than their harmful effects on health.
RESUMO
<b>Objective: </b>In this study, we evaluated distinctive types of physical predisposition in patients with common side effects.<br><b>Method: </b>We selected 500 and 1,200 individuals with and without a previous diagnosis of side effects, respectively, through web-based research. Then, we conducted a decision tree analysis for investigating the status of 100 types of physical predisposition in these individuals.<br><b>Results and Conclusion: </b>The individuals who had suffered from hepatic disorder and answered “relevant” for “predisposition to swelling” (likelihood ratio of a positive result [LR+] 2.17; <i>p</i>=0.004) and “very relevant” for “predisposition to skin dryness” (LR+ 3.52; <i>p</i><0.001) enhanced the probability of extracting individuals who developed side effects. The individuals who had suffered from skin disorder and answered “relevant” for “predisposition to eczema and inflammation” and “not relevant” for “predisposition to higher temperature” had an LR+ of 2.22 (<i>p</i><0.001). The individuals with “predisposition to worsening of physical condition on a rainy or high-humidity day” are more likely to develop side effects with the use of antibiotics and NSAIDs, compared to those without this predisposition (antibiotics: LR+ 2.33; NSAIDs: LR+ 2.51). The results of this study indicate that we can identify patients with a high risk of side effects through an interview on predisposition.
