Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Andrea Jennings-Sanders

Abstract

Chronic pain syndrome continues to be a national health concern among all medical specialties. It has an impact on the entire health care system and if current trends continue, the economic impact alone will exceed 100 billion dollars. In 2014, 254 million prescription opioids were written in the United States. During this time, an increase in prescription opioid related deaths was seen, with approximately 20,101 deaths occurring in 2015. Properly trained clinicians across the health care system are needed to achieve successful patient outcomes, while reducing cost, morbidity, and mortality. The purpose of the scholarly project was to develop a comprehensive, opioid-specific, expert reviewed and evidenced-based educational module for health care clinicians of all specialties. Using the guidelines offered by the Center for Disease Control in 2016, the content of the project was developed with a primary focus on the clinical processes, pharmacological properties, and appropriateness of opioids in the treatment of chronic pain. The educational module was disseminated to 10 experts in the field of pain management and family practice. Each of them was asked to evaluate the educational module and evaluate it from an expert standpoint via Likert-scale evaluation form. The data revealed a median score of 4.5 out of 5 for most all categories, demonstrating the project's ease of use, evidenced-based content, and its ability to further expand the knowledge of clinicians. The project will be presented to stakeholders and state representatives for wide spread distribution. Educating health care professional over the continuum will ensure effective social change and shift the current trends in prescription opioid related mortality and morbidity.

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