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Qualitative Descriptive Study of Barriers and Facilitators to Screening for Prenatal Cannabis Use
Objective:
To explore perinatal nurses' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to screening for prenatal cannabis use during hospital admission for birth.
Design:
Qualitative descriptive.
Setting:
Individual virtual interviews.
Participants:
Perinatal registered nurses (N = 22) who worked on labor and delivery and/or postpartum units in hospitals in 15 states in the United States.
Methods:
We asked participants to describe perceived barriers and facilitators to screening for prenatal cannabis use. We identified themes using Braun and Clarke's method of reflexive thematic analysis.
Results:
Participants held a variety of roles, including staff nurse (n = 13), educator (n = 4), and manager/director (n = 5). Themes categorized as barriers to screening included Patient Fear of Consequences, Screening Environment, Absence of a Patient-Centered Approach, Credibility of Patient Report, and Clinician Avoidance of Screening. Themes categorized as facilitators of screening included Patient-Centered Approach, Explaining the Rationale, Nursing Experience, Screening Protocols, and Cannabis Legalization.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest numerous opportunities to address barriers and promote facilitators to screening for prenatal cannabis use. Nurses should be educated to effectively conduct the patient-centered approaches identified as facilitators to screening, including motivational interviewing and trauma-informed care. Supporting perinatal nurses to conduct patient-centered screening has the potential to address discriminatory health practices and ensure effective screening for prenatal cannabis use.
