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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION In response to the opioid overdose epidemic, initiatives have been established to educate the public and reduce the harmful impact of opioids. Operation Naloxone is an initiative of the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy with the goal of educating the public through standardized presentations. The study's purpose is to utilize the presentation to assess changes in knowledge and attitudes of laypersons regarding opioid overdoses and naloxone administration using a validated survey.
OBJECTIVE To determine the change in scores from baseline in response to a standardized and reproducible presentation given by the Operation Naloxone initiative.
METHODS The participants of the study include high school students. Immediately before the presentation, participants complete a pre-survey. All surveys are numbered, allowing answers to remain anonymous. The participants attend a 1-hour presentation provided by Operation Naloxone, then immediately complete a post-survey. The primary endpoints for data analysis are the changes in Opioid Overdose Knowledge and Attitudes Scale scores (OOKS and OOAS).
RESULTS Data was recorded for this study starting in October 2019 and ended in May 2020. 174 paired surveys, 87 pre- and 87 post-surveys, were included in data analysis of the four knowledge domains. When combined, the four knowledge domains resulted in statistically significant (P < 0.0001) increases between pre-survey scores (mean, 19.54) and post-survey scores (mean, 23.39). The combined attitude scale including all ten questions resulted in a statistically significant (P < 0.0001) increase in attitude scores from pre-surveys (mean, 41.29; median, 42) to post-surveys (mean, 43.97; median, 45).
CONCLUSION The current study found statistically significant increases in both knowledge and attitudes domains of high school students regarding opioid overdoses. The study should be reproduced in different age groups and demographics to determine if there is a large scope of impact on the community. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Language: en |