Author(s)

Abraham Isaías López-González¹, Oscar Diego Vega-Rodríguez¹, Verónica Paolette Cañas-Pacheco¹, Rafael Villalobos-Molina², Diana Cecilia Tapia-Pancardo^2*

¹Nursing Career, Faculty of Higher Studies Iztacala, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Tlalnepantla, Mexico.
²Graduate and Research Division, Biomedicine Unit, Faculty of Higher Studies Iztacala, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Tlalnepantla, Mexico.

Introduction: Nursing students’ experiences during the pandemic provoked social isolation, the way to learn and every context increasing their stress and anxiety leading to drug use and abuse, among others. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogic strategy to strengthen significant learning; then the objective was to establish PBL influence in nursing students’ experiences on drug use and abuse during COVID-19 contingency. Methods: Qualitative, phenomenological and descriptive paradigm, 12 female and male nursing students aged 20 - 24 years old from the 5^th and 6^th semesters participated. Information collection was through semi-structured interview and a deep one in four cases. A guide of questions about: How the pandemic impacted your life? How did you face it? And what did you learn during this process? Those questions were used. Qualitative data analysis was based on De Souza Minayo, and signed informed consent was obtained from participants. Results: Students’ experiences allowed four categories to emerge, with six sub-categories. Category I. Students’ experiences on drug use and abuse facing the sanitary contingency; Category II. Students’ skills development to identify a problem and design of appropriate solutions; Category III. Developing skills to favor interpersonal relationships; Category IV. Influence of PBL in nursing students’ experiences on drug use and abuse during the COVID-19 contingency. Conclusion: PBL favored analysis and thoughts in nursing students’ experiences on drug use and abuse during the COVID-19 contingency, they worked collaboratively, developed resilience to daily life situations, and implemented stress coping strategies with their significant learning, which diminished their risk behavior.

Problem-Based Learning, Students’ Experiences in Drug Use and Abuse, COVID-19 Contingency, Resilience

López-González, A. , Vega-Rodríguez, O. , Cañas-Pacheco, V. , Villalobos-Molina, R. and Tapia-Pancardo, D. (2022) Problem-Based Learning of Drug Use and Abuse during COVID-19 Contingency. Open Journal of Nursing, 12, 170-180. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2022.122011.