A strategic approach to decreasing prescription drug abuse amongst college students

Objectives: To assess the attitudes and culture of prescription drug misuse amongst undergraduate students. To assess students knowledge of, their perceived risks, and severity of misusing prescription drugs, and the accessibility of prescription drugs on campus. To examine the relationship between academic status and prescription drug misuse. To develop a Public Service Announcement to create awareness on this issue, and propose appropriate prevention programs using the Ecological Model of behavioral change. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 50 undergraduate Drexel University students, ages 18 and older. Students were recruited from the Main Campus to complete an anonymous 35-question survey to assess their perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes towards prescription drug misuse. Results: 22% of students in this study reported misusing prescription drugs in their lifetime, while 44% of students reported abusing illicit drugs in their lifetime. Older students 24 years old and above are more likely to misuse prescription drugs than younger students. Most students reported stimulants (58%) and painkillers (52%) to be the most accessible prescription drugs on campus. 90% of students reported marijuana as the most accessible illegal drug. 70% of students feel that they could gain access to prescription drugs by asking other students on campus, with 40% of students claiming to know at least one student to ask for prescription drugs. In this study, academic status was not significantly correlated with prescription drug misuse; however, students with lower grade point average appeared to misuse prescription drugs more than students with higher grade point average. Perceived risks and severity of prescription drug misuse varied; however, majority of students reported some risks associated with prescription drug and illegal drug abuse. Conclusions: Lifetime misuse of prescription and illicit drugs is somewhat common amongst Drexel University undergraduate students surveyed at the Main Campus. This study found that students risk perceptions about drug misuse and their perceived ease of access to drugs could influence their choice to abuse prescription and illicit drugs. It was difficult proving statistical significance for some correlations due to the sample size of this study. Hence, a larger sample study on this topic is recommended in order to be able to generalize the findings to the rest of the Drexel University students. A PSA is being done to create awareness on this issue, and correct students misunderstanding of the effects of drug misuse and prevention programs should be put in place through the C. H. O. I. C. E. S Center at Drexel University.