The negative attitudes of some general nurses towards drug misusers

This article presents some findings from an interview study which examined the attitudes of 82 healthcare professionals towards drug misuse and drug misusers. They represented a sub-sample of a larger study of 248 professionals working with intravenous drug misusers in west Scotland. It was thought that nurses' attitudes could affect their emotional responses and the subsequent care they gave to patients. The results suggested that staff have judgmental and punitive attitudes to drug misusers. Most respondents felt that drugs corrupt the young and that drug misusers should only be cared for in specialised units. Nearly half of all respondents regarded drug misusers as a threat to society due to HIV/AIDS and agreed that drug misusers should be compulsorily tested for HIV infection.