Report of the 2020 Special Committee on Substance Use and Pharmacy Education.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe 2020 Special Committee on Substance Use and Pharmacy Education was charged to update the work of the 2010 Special Committee on Substance Abuse and Pharmacy Education Report (SAPER) specifically with recommendations on core curricular content and delivery processes on substance misuse and substance use disorder (SUD). This report provides information on the committee's process to address the charges, background information and resources pertaining to the charges, and rationale for SUD being a critical topic for curriculum at colleges and schools of pharmacy. This committee offers several recommendations to the Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) pertaining to the committee charges.

Substance use attitudes and behaviors at three pharmacy colleges.

The objective of this study was to profile and compare alcohol and other drug (AOD) use attitudes and behaviors in three pharmacy colleges. Student surveys of AOD use attitudes and behaviors were conducted at one southwestern and two midwestern pharmacy colleges. Response was 86.5% (566/654). Reported past-year use included alcohol 82.8%, tobacco 25.4%, and marijuana 6.9%. Past-year AOD-associated events included blackouts 18.2%, class or work under influence 7.8%, patient care under influence 1.4%, lowered grades or job evaluations 5.8%, legal charges 2.7%, and heavy drinking 29.0%. Family histories of alcohol or drug problems were reported by 35.5% and 13.1%, respectively. A number of significant differences in AOD use attitudes and behaviors between the three colleges were identified. Pharmacy students reported a number of risky drug-use attitudes and behaviors in this survey. Student AOD prevention, assistance, and education should be proactively addressed by pharmacy colleges.

Survey of alcohol and other drug use attitudes and behaviors in nursing students.

Statewide nursing student alcohol and other drug (AOD) use attitudes and behaviors were assessed. Response was 929/2017 (46%) (practical nursing [n = 173/301] 57.3%; diploma and associate degree in nursing [n = 282/417] 67.6%; bachelor of science in nursing [n = 474/1299] 36.5%). Nearly 44% reported inadequate substance abuse education. Past-year AOD use included tobacco 36.9%, marijuana 6.8%, sedatives 4.6%, and opioids 2.6%. Past-year AOD-related events included blackouts 19.8%, class/work under the influence 6.3%, patient care under the influence 3.9%, lowered grades/job evaluations 6.6%, and legal charges 3.6%. Heavy drinking was reported by 28.9%. Practical nursing (PN) students most often reported tobacco use and sedative use, whereas Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) students most often reported marijuana use. Family histories of alcohol-related problems and drug-related problems were reported, respectively, by 48.1% and 19.2% of respondents; 51.1% reported at least one of these. PN students most often reported such family histories. Nursing educational systems should proactively address student AOD prevention, education, and assistance.

Survey of attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol and other drug use in allied health and physician assistant students.

Attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol and other drug (AOD) use were assessed among a subgroup of allied health (AH) and physician assistant (PA) students within two university-based health professions educational institutions in a midwestern state in 1999. AH/PA student response was 423 (77.5%); this included occupational therapy (n = 81; 60.4%), physical therapy [PT] (n = 222; 98.7%), PA (n = 68; 85.0%), and other AH programs (n = 52; 48.1%). In this AH/PA group, a family history of alcohol-related problems was reported by 40.1% and drug-related problems by 11.3%, with 42.5% of respondents reporting one or both. Such histories of family alcohol and drug problems were reported by 47.8% or 18.5% of PA students, respectively. Past-year alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use were reported, respectively, by 88.1%, 26.1%, and 6.7%. The highest percentage use of marijuana was reported by PT students (9.0%). Past-year blackouts were reported by 21.9%, driving after three or more drinks or any drug use by 49.3%, attendance at class or work under the influence of AOD by 7.8%, patient care under the influence of AOD by 3.3%, lowered grades or job evaluations from AOD use by 5.0%, and AOD-related legal charges by 4.5%. "Heavy drinking" (defined as consumption of five or more drinks per occasion during the past 2 weeks) was reported by 33.2%. Inadequate AOD education was reported by 55.1%, with 63.6% of PT respondents so reporting. AH and PA educational systems should proactively address student AOD prevention, education, and assistance needs.

Assessment of alcohol and other drug use behaviors in health professions students.

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use behaviors of health professions students (HPS) were assessed by surveying both university-based HPS and other nursing programs in a Midwestern state in 1999. Response was 2,646 (56.4%) of surveyed students. Family history of alcohol-related and drug-related problems were reported by 39.8% and 13.9%, respectively, with 42.6% of respondents reporting one or both. Among nursing respondents, 48.1%, 19.2% and 51.1%, respectively, reported family problems with alcohol, drugs, or one or both. Past-year alcohol use was comparable to undergraduate college students (UCS) nationally (83%); heavy drinking, tobacco and recreational drug use by HPS were lower. Past year drug use was highest among medical students. Marijuana was the predominant illicit drug; medical students and males most often reported use. Health professions educational systems should proactively address student AOD prevention, education and assistance needs.