Prevalence of self-reported nonmedical use of prescription stimulants in North Carolina Doctor of Pharmacy students.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence, associated factors, and opinions regarding nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS) in Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students.

METHODS: An electronic survey was distributed to professional year 1 through 4 for students at 2 schools of pharmacy (public and private) in North Carolina. The survey was available for 3 weeks. Descriptive statistics (proportion of responders plus 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were used to describe the primary objective.

RESULTS: Of the 1043 surveys distributed, 407 were completed giving a 39% response rate. The results indicated that 9% (95% CI: 6.44-11.93) of PharmD students acknowledge NMUPS at least once during their pharmacy education. Additionally, 3% (95% CI: 1.90-5.45) acknowledge NMUPS at least once during the current pharmacy school year (past 5 months). Nonmedical prescription stimulant users were 9 times more likely to participate in NMUPS prior to pharmacy school (P < .0001) and 4.5 times more likely to use other illicit substances (P = .0076).

CONCLUSION: The study identified the PharmD student population as high risk of abuse of prescription drug stimulants, which requires further research and attention. Additionally, there was a clear upward trend in the prevalence of NMUPS, and this misuse was associated with other detrimental behaviors.