Promotion of Patient Education in the Perioperative Setting Regarding Safe Storage and Disposal of Opioids

Opioids are prescribed on a routine basis for patients in the ambulatory surgery settings with 42-66% of those opioid prescriptions left unused. In a recent study, perianesthesia nurses were likely to discuss the side effects of opioids with patients, but did not verbally teach or document information regarding disposal, storage, or safe use of opioids. Also, only 10% of the participants stated that their facility required this information to be taught or documented upon discharge. In one study, 88% of outpatients did not recall information regarding proper disposal of opioids. Experts have called for research to develop safe post-discharge prescription practices after surgery. This interventional study was developed after a descriptive study determined a gap in perianesthesia nurses knowledge and practice. Purpose/Research Design: This one-group, pretest, posttest study aims to determine if a web-based educational intervention increases knowledge, attitude and intention of perianesthesia nurses regarding opioid discharge education (including opioid safe use, storage, and disposal). Setting and Study Sample: All perianesthesia nurses who are members of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) will have the opportunity to complete the pretest, educational module, and posttest. Proposed Methodology: A pretest based on the Theory of Planned Behavior will be emailed to all members of ASPAN from the national ASPAN office. At the end of the survey, a web link will take participants to the educational web-based module. All study data will be collected using the Qualtrics system, a secure web based application for building surveys. A follow-up email will automatically be sent to participants who complete the pretest 4 weeks after completion with a link to the posttest. The posttest is the same survey as the pretest except for one question that asks: “Did you complete the educational module? Yes, Partially, No.”