Systematic Review of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Training for Medical Students and Residents

Temporal Reinforcement of Naloxone Training Results in Significant Retention of Anti-bias and Overdose-Response Knowledge

BACKGROUND

The opioid epidemic is an increasingly severe problem affecting public health and leading to significant economic burdens on healthcare systems. Overdose reversal training and de-stigmatization efforts are common strategies used to combat this epidemic. Nevertheless, healthcare professionals report a lack of confidence in administering naloxone and high stigmatization levels toward people with opioid use disorder (OUD). While one-time educational training reduces stigma and improves naloxone administration confidence, we previously demonstrated that knowledge retention at a three-month follow-up is reduced among a cohort of medical students. This study aimed to improve the effectiveness of opioid overdose awareness and reversal training (OOART) with a three-month follow-up abbreviated OOART (aOOART) booster video.

METHODS

Voluntary OOART was offered to first-year medical students (M1) at the Drexel University College of Medicine in 2022. At this training, 82 students completed a pre-training survey to establish a baseline knowledge and attitude toward people with OUD and their familiarity with the steps to reverse an opioid overdose. Following the hour-long training, 64 of 82 (79%) participants completed the post-training survey to measure the immediate retention of training information. After 2.5 months, students were randomly selected to receive a 6.5-minute aOOART booster video or serve as an unboosted control. Students in the booster and non-booster cohorts then completed a three-month follow-up survey.

RESULTS

 Students who received the aOOART booster had significantly increased opioid reversal knowledge scores compared to non-boosted control students at the three-month follow-up. The aOOART booster resulted in a retention of the lowered stigma, and participants expressed a higher willingness to respond to an opioid overdose compared to participants who did not receive the booster video at the three-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

 This study shows that an aOOART booster method improves knowledge retention following initial OOART. Further, the aOOART booster video served to maintain participants' reduced stigma toward people with OUD and maintained participants' willingness to respond to an opioid overdose. These results support the incorporation of an abbreviated, periodic OOART reinforcement video into opioid overdose response training nationwide. We believe this "booster video" approach is a novel and effective method to improve healthcare professionals' and medical student preparedness to render appropriate care to people with OUD.

A longitudinal study of naloxone opioid overdose awareness and reversal training for first-year medical students: specific elements require reinforcement

Background

The opioid epidemic is a progressively worsening public health crisis that continues to impact healthcare system strategies such as overdose reversal and destigmatization. Even among healthcare professionals, there remains a lack of confidence in naloxone administration and a prevalence of stigma. While training can play a major impact in reducing these shortcomings, the long-term effectiveness has yet to be characterized in training healthcare professionals. This study examined the long-term retention of opioid overdose awareness and reversal training (OOART) by evaluating performance at two-time intervals, immediately post-training and at a 3-month follow-up.

Methods

Voluntary training was offered to first-year (M1) medical students at the Drexel University College of Medicine in 2021. At this training, 118 students completed training, 95 completed the post-training survey, and 42 completed the 3-month follow-up.

Results

Opioid reversal knowledge questions assessed significantly increased scores post-training and at the 3-month follow-up. In three of the attitude questions, scores were improved at both follow-up timepoints. In addition, three attitude questions indicating a participant’s confidence to respond to an opioid overdose situation increased directly after the training, but regressed at the 3-month follow-up. The remaining questions did not show any statistical difference across the survey intervals.

Conclusions

This study establishes that while OOART provides participants with the knowledge of how to respond to an opioid overdose, the retention of this knowledge at a 3-month interval is reduced. The results were mixed for longitudinal assessment of participant’s attitudes toward people with opioid use disorder. Some positive increases in attitudes were retained at the 3-month interval, while others trended back toward pre-training levels. These results support the effectiveness of the training but also provide evidence that OOART must be reinforced often.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12954-022-00656-y.

Buprenorphine X-waiver exemption - beyond the basics for the obstetrical provider

Buprenorphine is 1 of 3 medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder, and practitioners must obtain a federal waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. Until recently, physicians and advanced practice clinicians were required to complete 8 and 24 hours of training, respectively, before applying for this waiver and to provide psychosocial services when prescribing buprenorphine to ≤30 patients. The US Department of Health and Human Services announced in April 2021 that eligible providers would be exempt from the educational requirement for certification, making the waiver more accessible for those intending to prescribe to ≤30 patients. Here, we reviewed the historic background to the exemption and provided practical guidelines to practitioners caring for obstetrical patients with opioid use disorder who are considering applying for the waiver for the first time. Because the educational requirements will no longer be required for X-waiver application, we reviewed fundamental topics and challenging scenarios that are often reviewed in certification courses.