Substance abuse is a self-destructive behaviour engaged in by individual including adolescents. Nurses play vital role in the care of individuals, families, and communities with problems related to the substance abuse. It is crucial that the nurses have adequate awareness identifying and preventing substance abuse. This study assessed nurses’ awareness on identification of substance abuse among adolescents in Nyarugenge District. The study adopted a descriptive and quantitative research design. The population comprises 118 nurses from Nyarugenge district primary health centers. Total enumeration was used for the study. A self-structured questionnaire which was validated was used to collect data. The study achieved a response rate of 98.3%. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. In regard to nurses’ awareness of substance abuse 26.7% nurses had low awareness, 57.7% had moderate awareness and 15.5% had high awareness. The study showed that 26.7% of nurses had low ability, 58.6% of nurses had moderate and 14.6% had high ability in identification of substance abuse. The study showed that socio-demographic characteristics of nurses had a positive correlation with ability in identification of substance abuse, correlation (r = .760, p = .000). The study concluded that most of the nurses are moderately aware of substance abuse among adolescents while most of them too had moderate ability in identification of substance abuse in Nyarugenge District. It was recommended among others that there is a need to provide trainings for nurses about substance abuse and easy identification of substance abuse.

Keywords: Adolescents, Identification, Nurses’ Awareness, Substance Abuse,

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