Addressing Opioid Misuse and Abuse through Interprofessional Engagement and Education

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this initiative was to develop and implement an interprofessional panel aimed to expose a university audience to the magnitude of opioid misuse and abuse, as well as demonstrate each health professional’s role in curbing the epidemic. Further, this experience was to provide a platform for interprofessional discussion and to share with attendees tangible action items to begin combatting the opioid epidemic. Methods: An interdisciplinary committee of healthcare professionals collaborated to initiate a dialogue around opioid misuse and abuse to highlight the power of interprofessional (IP) collaboration in addressing the opioid epidemic. Each panel member shared a personal vignette about his or her professional experience with the epidemic, then the audience members were asked to participate in a question and answer session. Primary outcomes from this IP experience were derived from an eight-item satisfaction survey. The event was held in April 2016. The interdisciplinary committee marketed this event to all students, faculty, and staff in the Rueckert-Hartman College of Health Care Professionals one month before the event through electronic emails and posters. Results: Forty-four (63%) of participants completed the satisfaction survey of which 88.6% were students of healthcare professions. The satisfaction survey evaluative results were positive and referenced the panel as being an excellent IP event that was helpful, informative, and enjoyable. The results support that the initiative successfully increased understanding of the magnitude of the opioid epidemic for the attendees of this pilot event. The target audience of students expressed a greater awareness of the magnitude of the problem (43.2%) and an increased appreciation of the IP aspects of opioid management strategies (36.4%). Attendees also identified the need for ownership of their role as existing and future health care professionals and the need to work as an IP team to address the problem. Conclusion: An interprofessional panel format as an optional extracurricular event is an effective way to communicate key educational messages about opioid misuse and abuse to a target audience of graduate students at a mid-sized college of health professions.

Developing an interprofessional education programme for a health science faculty in South Africa: A multi-method study

“… 45 and Brooks et al. 46 also found that implementing an optional IPE is an essential starting point.…”

Addressing Opioid Epidemic Through Interprofessional Education and Communication Is Key

“…There have also been great educational strides with screening, intervention, and referral to treatment and medication-assisted treatment to address these needs. Large organizations, such as the Institute of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Pain Management Society, recommend a multimodal approach, and to do this, it requires collaborative practice (Brooks, Holm, Thomas, & Rich, 2017) and therefore collaborative education and training including those outside the prescribing professions. Although it will take time for our major institutions to change to provide this type of training to our future healthcare practitioners, the growing need is mandating change.…”

“…The Interprofessional Education Collaborative has pushed for change in our academic institutions. Responses to this push have varied widely, and the outcome measurement competencies have not been established (Brooks et al, 2017).…”

“…In the meantime, we can look to bridge the gap with interprofessional education through communication workshops with interprofessional panels targeting both healthcare professionals and students (Brooks et al, 2017). Interprofessional communication and education with a mixed audience is easier said than done because of the fact that each profession has not been trained or taught in the same way.…”

“…To address this barrier, we need to be the leaders in the interprofessional model of workshops and work to change these perceived differences to the realization that, together, we can and will improve outcomes. These models of interprofessional panels and audiences have shown they can engage both students and healthcare professionals, improve learning, and increase communication (Brooks et al, 2017). As we all move forward to address the daunting opioid crisis, we have to realize the enormity of the task at hand and that it will take all of us learning, teaching, and working together to face it.…”