The Awareness of Digital Drugs among Omani Nurses
J Addict Psychiatry Ment Health
Background: Digital drugs are stimulus sounds that are believed to be capable of modifying brain wave rhythms and manipulating the state of mind. This phenomenon has recently emerged as a danger alert to Arab countries. The present study intended to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of Omani nurses regarding digital drugs.
Method: The study adopted a descriptive correlational design. The total sample was 389 based on defined inclusion criteria. The sample was chosen at convenience. We used a self-report instrument to investigate the extents of the research phenomena, and it consists of demographical data and a digital drug awareness scale.
Result: The mean age of the participants is 32.9 ± 6.11 years. The majority of the participants were male 51.2% (199), married 53.0 % (206), have a Bachelor's degree, 60.2% (234), have 11-20 years of clinical experience, and are working in Emergency units 40.9% (159) as Register Nurse (RN) 70.2% (273). The mean awareness level of nursing participants in this study about the phenomenon of digital drugs has reached 98.01.
Conclusion: The results indicated a moderate level of digital drug awareness; the participants of this study were highly aware of the effect of digital drugs on the body system. They were less mindful of how to utilize this kind of drug, the required tools, software, and environments.
Keywords: Addiction; Digital drugs; I-dosing; Nurses Awareness