Implementation of a subject on the care of addiction in the Nursing degree: origin of the need and expectations.

Implementation of a subject on the care of addiction in the Nursing degree: origin of the need and expectations.
Background:
Nurses must possess a profound understanding of contemporary consumption patterns and key nursing activities to provide care grounded in a bio-psycho-social model. The primary objective of this course is to equip final-year nursing students with specific competencies and knowledge to offer effective support to individuals facing substance or behavioral dependence. This support entails a comprehensive approach, covering prevention, acute intervention, rehabilitation, or harm reduction, applicable across different levels of healthcare. Emphasizing the holistic nature of addiction care, the course also underscores the paramount importance of communication and building connections among patients, users, and professionals. This communication skill not only enhances the overall quality of care but also plays a crucial role in creating a supportive and empathetic healthcare environment. 
The aim of our study is to understand students' expectations on this topic, identify potential stigmas, and consolidate effective communication strategies to foster a collaborative relationship with individuals facing dependency issues. In the long term, we aspire to motivate our students to engage in internships within harm reduction services, dual diagnosis, or rehabilitation centers.
Methods:
-        Study Design: Observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional
-        Study Period: February to March- 2024
-        Inclusion Criteria: Final-year nursing students at the School of Nursing and Occupational Therapy of Terrassa (Barcelona) (EUIT).
-        Instrument: semi-structured interviews aimed at addressing our objectives include:
Assessing whether our students have acquired sufficient knowledge and skills to handle the care of patients with some form of addiction.Determining if, during their training, they have developed strong skills in therapeutic communication to assist individuals whose behavior may be affected by substance use or cravings.Exploring if they have had prior experiences with patients or users with addiction and understanding how they felt when providing care in those cases.Investigating if they harbor any reluctance or reservations about working in settings where individuals with this profile are treated. 
Results and conclusions:
The results are pending acquisition and analysis and they will be presented at the conference. Starting from the assumption that our future nurses will be able to attend to individuals with any level of addiction within the healthcare system, we want to investigate if we provide sufficient foundations to our students, with a focus on the importance of communication and therapeutic rapport.