Abstract
<jats:p>The relevance of studying the ideas of students majoring in medicine and biology in the Central Black Earth Region of Russia about the problem of drug addiction and its prevention is associated with the significant prevalence of illegal drug use among young people in general, including those with medical education. In recent years, the incidence of drug-related morbidity has been declining, but episodic drug use is often not diagnosed and is not included in official data, but requires special attention. Even students of medical and biological specialties who have specialized knowledge but demonstrate insufficient preventive awareness are at risk. The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of knowledge and attitudes about drug addiction and its prevention among students of medical and biological specialties in the Central Black Earth Region of Russia, with an emphasis on the level of education (higher and secondary) and place of residence (city / village). The research program included a survey of 1 140 students from the Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Lipetsk and Tambov regions. An original questionnaire implemented through the Yandex Forms platform was used. The data were processed using descriptive statistics methods with confidence intervals, χ²-criterion and Student's t-criterion with a significance level of p≤0.05. The selection of respondents met the representativeness criteria according to the methodology of the Central Research Institute of Health Organization and Informatization of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The results showed that 81.8% of students have an objective understanding of the harm of non-medical use of psychoactive substances, but significant differences were recorded by place of residence: in rural areas, underestimation of the danger and a tendency to "controlled drug use" prevail. Objective attitudes are more common among university students (66.5%) compared to college students (59.3%). Readiness for drug diagnostic screening is higher among urban students, while in rural areas an increased tendency to conceal drug status and a predisposition to drug addiction was recorded (21.6% versus 3.3% in the city). The final conclusion showed that medical and biological education does not guarantee the automatic formation of attitudes that exclude drug use. Living in rural areas is a pronounced risk factor for the prevalence of delusions and drug addiction. It is necessary to intensify extracurricular preventive work, especially in colleges located outside the cities, and systematically train specialists responsible for preventive activities in educational institutions.</jats:p>