Expanding naloxone education in the doctor of pharmacy curriculum

Pharmacists are well-positioned to provide patients with access to the opioid-induced breathing emergency reversal agent naloxone, but many do not feel they have received adequate training to do so. The purpose of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate an enhanced teaching approach to naloxone education in the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum.

The educational intervention incorporated active learning, technology, and interprofessional education components. Surveys were developed and administered pre-intervention and at one-week, six-month, and one-year post-intervention to evaluate changes in knowledge, perceptions, and confidence in clinical skills related to opioid-induced breathing emergencies and naloxone.

After participating, students' confidence (rated 0 to 5) in their ability to administer both intranasal (2.54 vs. 4.37, P < .001) and intramuscular (IM) (2.8 vs. 4.02, P < .001) naloxone increased, which was reflected in their improved performance on an opioid-induced breathing emergency simulation activity. Students ≤25 years old and females experienced significantly greater increases in their confidence to administer IM naloxone than those >25 years old and male. Most of these effects persisted at six months and one-year post-intervention.

The educational intervention increased pharmacy students' skills and confidence related to opioid-induced breathing emergency and naloxone. Improvements observed were in line with results of similar pedagogical studies. Age and gender differences in self-reported confidence levels also reflected previously reported findings. Materials and methods have been made available for other PharmD programs to utilize in expanding their curricula in these areas.