Despite this new demand on Brazilian nursing practice, various studies have appointed that Brazilian nursing students
are not being adequately prepared for care delivery and for coping with drugs-related problems. These professionals
received a limited amount of drug and alcohol education as part of their preparation for practice . This phenomenon has
been observed not only in Brazil. Studies in the United States , Australia and England reveal that content related to
substance use and misuse education in nursing curricula is inadequate. The lack of preparation to work with substance
misusers, including alcohol addicts, can lead to negative attitudes in nurses and nursing students when confronted with
situations involving the use of alcohol and other substances , which ultimately influences care delivery in quantitative
and qualitative terms .
Despite studies in other countries for over two decades , in Brazil, little research has been done on nursing students’
attitudes towards substance misuse-related issues, with a consequent lack of publications in Brazilian literature . This
fact has made specialists in the area recommend further research with a view to identifying nurses and nursing students’
attitudes towards substance misusers and how substance-related problems should be dealt with in Brazil.