The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at An-Najah National University participated in the 2021 NIDA International Forum on drug abuse, which was held by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA in cooperation with the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDDD) during the period June 22-24, 2021.


The NIDA International Forum fosters international cooperative research and the exchange of scientific information by drug abuse researchers. Held each June in conjunction with the annual scientific meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the Forum highlights the range and quality of drug abuse and addiction research conducted around the world.

The Forum features a research symposium, a poster session, and network-building activities highlighting NIDA-supported and other international research on drug abuse.

This unique scientific meeting allowed participants to network with talented colleagues, learn about drug abuse research and policy issues in other countries, and discuss NIDA-supported fellowships and other programs that can support international collaborations.

Student Ahmed Farhoud from the University's Faculty of Medicine presented a research paper titled " Depression among medical and non-medical students and its association with cognitive enhancers & psychostimulants use during COVID-19 quarantine". The research paper was conducted by a group of medical students and was supervised by Dr. Basma Damiri, Dr. Zaher Nazzal, Dr. Abdul-Salam Al-Khayyat from the Faculty of Medicine and Dr. Ahmed Abu Hassan from An-Najah National University Hospital.

Student Farhoud presented the results of the paper which indicated that the overall prevalence of depression, tobacco smoking, coffee, and energy drinks consumptions were high among university students, with apparent differences in accordance to the gender and academic fields. Depression was less prevalent among medical students than health sciences students and non-medical students. The severity of depression was strongly associated with cigarette smoking.


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