Cid Ashley, Patten Alec, Beazely Michael, Grindrod Kelly, Yessis Jennifer, Chang Feng
School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, 10 Victoria St. S A, Kitchener, ON N2G 1C5, Canada.
School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Pharmacy (Basel). 2022 Feb 4;10(1):24. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy10010024.
The number of opioid-related deaths in Canada has steadily increased since 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this trend. Naloxone has been pivotal for reducing opioid-related harms and death, and pharmacists play a crucial role in ensuring the supply of naloxone to Canadians through community pharmacies. However, naloxone dispensing by pharmacists is not optimal; in fact, in Ontario, only 50% of pharmacists offer naloxone, despite national guidelines that pharmacists should offer naloxone to everyone with an opioid prescription. When asked why pharmacists do not proactively offer naloxone, recent research has identified that pharmacists need continuing education to boost confidence and knowledge on how to start conversations with patients. The study involves a delayed start, double-blind randomized controlled trial, for Canadian licensed pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The goals of the program are to increase Canadian pharmacy professional's knowledge, confidence, and motivation to proactively offer naloxone, as well as to decrease stigma associated with naloxone. The program incorporates behaviour change techniques from the Theoretical Domains Framework and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The intervention program includes three modules that focus on improving pharmacists' communication skills by teaching them how to proactively offer naloxone, while the control group will complete a reading assignment on the naloxone consensus guidelines. The program will involve a process and outcome evaluation in addition to a contribution analysis. This program is important for breaking down previously identified barriers and knowledge gaps for why pharmacists currently do not proactively offer naloxone. This study will provide important new information about what behaviour change techniques are successful in improving confidence and motivation in the pharmacy profession and in an online environment. Findings from this study can be used to produce a national naloxone education program that can also be implemented into current pharmacy school curriculum.
自2016年以来，加拿大与阿片类药物相关的死亡人数稳步上升，而新冠疫情使这一趋势更加恶化。纳洛酮对于减少与阿片类药物相关的危害和死亡起到了关键作用，药剂师在通过社区药房确保向加拿大人供应纳洛酮方面发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，药剂师发放纳洛酮的情况并不理想；事实上，在安大略省，尽管国家指南规定药剂师应向每一位持有阿片类药物处方的人提供纳洛酮，但只有50%的药剂师提供纳洛酮。当被问及药剂师为何不主动提供纳洛酮时，最近的研究发现，药剂师需要继续教育，以增强在如何与患者展开对话方面的信心和知识。该研究涉及一项针对加拿大执业药剂师和药房技术人员的延迟启动、双盲随机对照试验。该项目的目标是提高加拿大药学专业人员主动提供纳洛酮的知识、信心和积极性，并减少与纳洛酮相关的污名化。该项目纳入了理论领域框架和计划行为理论中的行为改变技巧。干预项目包括三个模块，重点是通过教授药剂师如何主动提供纳洛酮来提高他们的沟通技巧，而对照组将完成一份关于纳洛酮共识指南的阅读作业。该项目除了进行贡献分析外，还将进行过程和结果评估。该项目对于打破先前确定的关于药剂师目前不主动提供纳洛酮的障碍和知识差距非常重要。这项研究将提供重要的新信息，说明哪些行为改变技巧能成功提高药学专业人员在药房工作环境及在线环境中的信心和积极性。这项研究的结果可用于制定一项全国性的纳洛酮教育项目，该项目也可纳入当前的药学院课程。
