ABSTRACT
Background: Despite much research and many interventions, the opioid epidemic continues to plague the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021), 136 people die daily from both prescription and illicit opioids. Objective: The goal of this pilot quality improvement project is to examine how the implementation of the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) in clinical practice might impact the beliefs and attitudes of nurse practitioners (NPs) toward prescribing opioid therapy. Methods: A pre-post design was utilized. A convenience sample recruited participants from a private NP Facebook group. The intervention included a prerecorded presentation on the ORT and the use of the ORT for 8 weeks. Results: While 46 NPs completed the presurvey, only 19 NPs completed the postsurvey. Statistical results did not yield significance, but there were several significant clinical trends discovered. Conclusion: Utilizing the ORT to screen for opioid misuse risks has been shown to improve providers' confidence in opioid prescribing. ORT guides providers in discerning patient risk for developing dependence on opioids. Implications for Nursing: Screening for opioid misuse risk is feasible. ORT adds to the clinical context in deciding a course of treatment in pain management.
Subject(s)
Nurse Practitioners , Opioid-Related Disorders , Humans , United States , Analgesics, Opioid/adverse effects , Practice Patterns, Physicians' , Opioid-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Opioid-Related Disorders/prevention & control , Pain ManagementABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a major public health concern among African American (A.A.) men. A.A. men have the highest PCa incidences nationally and internationally. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based PCa awareness intervention designed to positively affect the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of A.A. men regarding PCa screening. METHOD: A quantitative pre/post survey research design was utilized. A convenience sample of 11 subjects were recruited. The intervention consisted of a pre-survey, video presentation, oral presentation, question and answer session, and post-survey. The Thomas Jefferson University Prostate Cancer Screening Survey was used as the survey instrument. RESULTS: The findings revealed a strong positive correlation between age of participants and pre-test scores. As education level increased among the participants so did knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: The study's goal was met by increasing awareness and changing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs in A.A. men regarding PCa screening. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Nurses and healthcare providers should encourage discussions with A.A. men regarding advantages and disadvantages of PCa screening that embraces cultural awareness. PCa knowledge is important for shared decision-making with healthcare providers.
Subject(s)
Black or African American/psychology , Early Detection of Cancer/psychology , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Mass Screening/psychology , Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis , Prostatic Neoplasms/psychology , Adult , Black or African American/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Early Detection of Cancer/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Male , Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data , Middle Aged , Pilot Projects , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
The death rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD) is substantially higher among African American women than for white women. Physical activity has been linked to decreased risk factors and deaths related to CVD. Despite the health benefits of physical activity, reports show most African American women have low levels of physical activity. Home- or community-based walking interventions are effective strategies to promote increased levels of physical activity among African American women. This article describes the implementation of one such program.