Document Type
Report
Abstract
The purpose of this project was to determine chronic opioid pain management practices of Alaskan Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in primary care, compare them to best practices, and describe perceived barriers to evidence-based guideline use. Participants included NPs in Alaska who work in primary care and currently have an active Alaska NP license and Alaska mailing address. This project answered the questions of to what extent primary care NP practices are consistent with current Federation of State Medical Boards (2013) guidelines when managing chronic non-cancer pain with opioid therapy as well as identified the perceived barriers to guideline use. A cross sectional, descriptive design was used. The principal investigator mailed a paper survey to a convenience sample of NPs in Alaska. Nurse practitioners in Alaska follow guidelines when initiating opioid therapy most of the time, with all but three guidelines being followed ‘very frequently’ by at least 50% of respondents. Respondents follow guidelines less often when managing opioid therapy with only one guidelines being followed ‘very frequently’ by at least 50% of respondents. Two major barriers to guideline use include resource and knowledge barriers. The findings of this project were used to make clinical recommendations for improved practice.
Publication Date
5-1-2016
Recommended Citation
Klein, Stephanie, "Chronic Pain Management With Opioids: An Assessment of Alaska Nurse Practitioner Practices" (2016). Student Projects for Graduate Degrees. 108.
https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/uaa_grad_stuprojects/108
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6593