Establishing and Evaluating a Study Questionnaire on Knowledge and Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals Towards Recreational and Medical Cannabis Across Europe

Attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge regarding medical cannabis among healthcare students in the Republic of Cyprus: a cross-sectional descriptive correlational study

Background

Although international research-based literature from the last 2 decades seems to favor the use of medical cannabis (MC), there is a lack of evidence concerning healthcare students' education on MC in the Republic of Cyprus and across the world. Therefore, this study explores healthcare students' attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge regarding the use of MC. We paid special attention to differences across specific sociodemographic (gender, age, and religion status) and educational (level of study and study field) characteristics.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2019 and March 2020. All active undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students (nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists, pharmacists, and occupational therapists; N = 900) studying in public and private universities in the Republic of Cyprus were eligible to participate (final sample: N = 819, response rate = 91%). To collect data on the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of the participants, we used the Medical Cannabis Questionnaire (MCQ). To analyze the data, we employed the Pearson's chi-square test for group differences, in addition to assessing the descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results

Approximately 82.2% believed that MC education should be integrated into the clinical practice requirements. Statistically significant differences were observed between genders in terms of beliefs/risk associated with the use of MC, with males being more likely to believe that there are significant mental-health benefits associated with using ΜC compared to females (84.9% vs. 76.2%, p<0.05). Females were more likely than males to believe that using MC poses serious physical (76.8% vs. 60.6%, p<0.001) and mental-health (77.9% vs. 66%, p<0.001) risks. Moreover, participants who received formal education about MC during their study/training were more prepared to answer patient/client questions about ΜC (p < 0.001). In addition, participants who received formal education had more frequently friends (p < 0.001) or family members who used MC (p < 0.005).

Conclusion

This study provides useful information for curriculum development, educational changes, and policy decisions related to cannabis use for medical purposes in the Republic of Cyprus. The results showed that the majority of the healthcare students who participated in the study favored MC use. However, the participants reported a lack of knowledge and recommended additional evidence-based research and education to enhance their knowledge about MC use. Therefore, we recommend the implementation of formal education on MC among healthcare students in the Republic of Cyprus during their study and clinical training. Furthermore, it is important to include MC-related theoretical and clinical/laboratory courses during studies and clinical practice.

Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about medical cannabis among nurses and midwives in Cyprus: a cross-sectional descriptive correlational study

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of evidence on healthcare professionals' attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs about medical cannabis in Cyprus and across the world. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about MC use among nurses and midwives in Cyprus. Special focus was given to differences across gender, age, religion, marital status, and years of work experience.

METHODS

A descriptive, cross-sectional correlational study with internal comparisons was conducted during the 26^th Nurses and Midwives Congress in Cyprus. All active nurses and midwives (convenience sampling), from the private and national healthcare services (n = 526) were eligible to participate. To analyze the data, the Pearson Chi-square test for group differences was employed, and descriptive and inferential statistics were assessed.

RESULTS

The final sample population consisted of 232 nurses and midwives (response rate of 46.4%). In total, 67(28.9%) participants were male, and 165(71.1%) were female. Cypriot nurses and midwives reported lack of knowledge regarding the risks and benefits about MC use to patients. However, specific number of participants believed MC use was considered acceptable for the patients with persistent muscle spasms, insomnia/sleeping disorders, mental health conditions, and terminal illnesses. The vast majority of the participants believed that formal training on MC should be integrated into academic programs, and expressed the necessity of urgent training under the current curriculum, as well as, educational training programs about MC use should be integrated into the practice/clinical practice. Concerning the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, gender had a statistically significant positive effect on participants' attitudes and beliefs about MC (p < 0.01, 26.8% vs. 13.4%). Male and unmarried participants reported higher frequency about cannabis use for recreational purposes, compared with female group (p < 0.01, 22.8%Vs 11.4%). Unmarried participants agreed that using cannabis might develop serious mental health risks compared with married participants group (p < 0.05, 77.9% vs. 66.8%).

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusions seem to be rather recommending in favor of MC use. Participants proposed enriching nursing curricula with theoretical and clinical/laboratory courses about MC during studies and clinical practice. Additional tailoring interventions should be established to decrease recreational cannabis use among Cypriot nurses and midwives.

European association for clinical pharmacology and therapeutics young clinical pharmacologists working group: a cornerstone for the brighter future of clinical pharmacology

The European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT) is a leading society in Europe serving the European and global Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics community. Its specific aims include promotion of the utilisation and divulgation of the utility of clinical pharmacology services in health care delivery. EACPT currently has four active working groups (WGs): Education, Regulatory affairs, Clinical research and Young Clinical Pharmacologists (YCP WG). EACPT YCP WG was established in 2015 with the idea of improving education, research, training and networking/mobility opportunities for YCPs across Europe and globe. The main objective of the present manuscript is to provide detailed information on general characteristics, structure, chronogram, objectives, accomplishments and current/future focus areas of the EACPT YCP WG. Consequently, we tend to notably enhance EACPT YCP WG's visibility, increase the number of its members and mobility/networking options and to expand areas of activity even more. Moreover, by this we can also make clinical pharmacology more attractive to early career fellows and colleagues and empower its position alongside other medical specialties.