Nurse Role in Preventing Substance Abuse

Background: Pain is the number one reason why people seek medical attention, meaning pain management is an important intervention in caring for patients. However, over prescribing opioids has caused a major problem in healthcare. The United States is facing a crisis related to opioid abuse and opioid overdose deaths. A major contribution to this crisis is from an over prescription of opioids, which has caused a four-time increase in prescription opioid overdose death since 1999. It is the nurse’s responsibility to screen, assess, monitor, and educate patients about substance abuse. All patients while being triaged should be screened for abuse; however, all patients should be monitored and educated if they are taking opioids during their hospital stay. The six scholarly and peer reviewed articles conclude that nurses feel uneducated on substance abuse and need an increase in nurse education. Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based project is to assess and evaluate whether increasing nurse education on substance abuse and non-pharmacological pain management tools will reduce the overuse of opioids while maintaining optimal pain levels within the hospital setting. Methods: The methods to increase nurse education include comparing formally trained medical-surgical unit nurses on SBIRT, an evidence-based screening tool for substance use disorders, and non-pharmacological pain relief methods to nurses who are not. Outcome: The outcomes will determine the effectiveness of increasing nurse education while keeping patient pain at a tolerable level. The outcomes will be measured by using patient satisfaction surveys pre and post intervention. Nurse satisfaction surveys will also be used to review the training and nurse ability to utilize non-pharmacological pain measures. The expected outcomes will reflect that increasing nurse education will reduce overuse of opioids related to prescribed opioids while maintaining adequate patient satisfaction. Key words: substance abuse, nurse role, education, preventio