Nurses' Attitudes Toward Clients With Substance Use Problems

Purpose This study aimed to examine factors associated with nurses' attitudes toward clients with substance use problems. Design and Methods A cross-sectional design was used, and 489 nurses working in two medical centers in Taiwan participated in this study. Findings Age, total nursing experience, work unit, personal experience, experience of taking care of clients with substance use problems, substance use education in school, and continuing education were significantly associated with nurses' attitudes. Hierarchical regression revealed that continuing education predicted nurses' overall attitudes. However, the model explained a low variance. Practice Implications Education-focused training alone may not be adequate. Nursing workforce development needs to incorporate multiple strategies, including clinical supervision, when designing substance use education for clinical nurses in order to generate better improvements on attitudes.