Exploring Motivations and Challenges in Substance Abuse Education: Insights from Undergraduate Healthcare Students

The widespread use of psychoactive substances challenges healthcare professionals in forming effective care relationships, yet there is a shortage of trained specialists in this area. A focus group (n = 9) with undergraduate healthcare students from various disciplines involved in the *DE-IDENTIFIED* in 2023 explored motivations, understandings, and treatment perspectives. Thematic analysis revealed that students’ motivations stemmed from personal experiences with substance use in their families and social circles. Participants preferred harm reduction and community-based approaches, rejecting biomedical models and terms like "addiction". While emphasizing collective determinants such as social class, culture, and race, their therapeutic approaches often focused on individual-based interventions. Addressing personal experiences, conceptual resistances, and sociocultural contexts is essential in substance abuse education. Training should integrate theoretical and cultural factors to foster effective learning and specialization, although broader studies are needed to generalize these findings.