Nurses' perceptions about the influence of the labor environment in the use of psychoactive substances.

Background: The work environment of nurses is characterized by physical and mental hazards liable to cause exhaustion and lead them to take psychoactive substances as coping strategy.

Objective: To investigate nurses' perception of the work environment influence on psychoactive substance intake.

Methods: Exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study with 14 nurses in two public hospitals.