Scaling up! Staff e-learning for a national take-home naloxone program

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Education
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Developed an e-learning course to support Norway's national take-home naloxone (THN) program scale-up.
• Aimed to characterize participants, assess knowledge changes, and evaluate THN distribution post-training.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of an e-learning module for THN program staff.
• Assess changes in opioid overdose knowledge among healthcare professionals.
• Determine the rate and factors influencing naloxone kit distribution by trained personnel.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental, pre-test, post-test longitudinal cohort study.
• Utilized the Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS) to measure knowledge gain.
• Frequency analyses and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were employed.

Main Results:

• 371 participants, primarily nurses and social workers (75%), completed the course.
• Significant knowledge increases observed across all measured items.
• 15% of participants reported distributing naloxone kits within one month; common barriers included client disinterest or workplace issues.

Conclusions:

• E-learning demonstrates comparable knowledge transfer to in-person training for THN programs.
• The course shows potential for engaging staff in naloxone distribution.
• Emphasizes the critical role of clear implementation strategies and central coordination for program success.