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Benefits of a continuing education module to enhance New Jersey primary care providers' attitudes about recommending medical marijuana rather than prescribing opioids to patients with chronic pain
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Patel, Shruti. Benefits of a continuing education module to enhance New Jersey primary care providers' attitudes about recommending medical marijuana rather than prescribing opioids to patients with chronic pain. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-zp5q-4w38

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TitleBenefits of a continuing education module to enhance New Jersey primary care providers' attitudes about recommending medical marijuana rather than prescribing opioids to patients with chronic pain
NamePatel, Shruti (author); Manchester, Jeanette (chair); Padovano, Cara (internal member); Rutgers University; School of Nursing - RBHS
Date Created2020
Other Date2020-05 (degree)
SubjectMedical marijuana, Cannabis, Attitudes, Primary care providers, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
Extent1 online resource (84 pages) : illustrations
DescriptionPurpose of Project: The purpose of this study was to analyze a change in New Jersey primary care providers’ attitudes towards recommending medical marijuana rather than prescribing opioids for chronic pain after reviewing a continuing education module.

Methodology: A continuing education module on the uses of medical marijuana for chronic pain was created and distributed throughout Rutgers University. A pre/post-test was used to measure the change in primary care providers' attitudes on the uses of medical marijuana. The pre-test and post-test each contained ten identical questions and these tests were administered at the beginning and the conclusion of the educational module.

Results: The study concluded with a total of 29 participants out of 328 individuals that were invited to participate in this study. The sample size of the study represents 48% of the 60 participants initially pursued. Out of the 29 participants, 21 identified their specialty as primary care/internal medicine. The paired t-test conducted on the 21 participants who identified their specialty as primary care/internal medicine resulted in a two-tailed p-value of 1.4955E-05 with an alpha value of 0.05. Given that the p-value is less than the chosen alpha, the null hypothesis is rejected and the data is accepted as statistically significant. The results imply that providing a continuing education module to New Jersey primary care providers on the uses of medical marijuana for chronic pain enhances their attitudes on recommending medical marijuana rather than prescribing opioids to patients with chronic pain. The paired t-test conducted for all 29 participants showed a two-tailed p-value of 2.965E-06 with an alpha value of 0.05. Given that the p-value is less than the chosen alpha, the null hypothesis is rejected and the data is accepted as statistically significant. The results imply that the continuing education module not only increases confidence in primary care/internal medicine specialties, but is effective among a broad range of specialties.

Implications for Practice: With increased confidence, primary care providers will have the ability to talk with their patients about the uses of medical marijuana as well as answer any questions that their patients may have. This module can lead to a better quality of care in patients who suffer from chronic pain who are receiving inadequate relief from their current pain regiments. It is important that modules such as the one presented in this study be provided to medical professionals not only in their place of work but also in the academic settings. By expanding the knowledge on the uses of medical marijuana, a practical alternative to opioids can be more broadly introduced within the healthcare industry with the potential to decrease the economic burden caused by the opioid epidemic.
NoteDNP
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-zp5q-4w38
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Nursing (RBHS) DNP Projects
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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