Nurses' Willingness to Care for Patients With Opioid-Use Problems: Exploring Background, Personal, and Professional Predictors'

Saturday, 23 February 2019

Khadejah F. Mahmoud, MSN1
Susan M. Sereika, PhD2
Deborah S. Finnell, DNS3
Karen M. Schmitt, BSN4
Janet A. Cipkala-Gaffin, DrPh5
Dawn Lindsay, PhD6
Kathryn Puskar, DrPH, MN7
Ann M. Mitchell, PhD, MS, BS7
(1)Health & Community Systems, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
(2)School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
(3)School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
(4)Hillman Cancer Center in the Lung Center., Pittsburgh, PA, USA
(5)Department of Nursing Education and Research at UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Shadyside, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
(6)Institute for Research, Education, and Training in Addictions, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
(7)School of Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Background: In 2017, the United States declared the opioid epidemic as a national crisis in need of immediate attention. The health care system, with nurses at the center, has a major role in driving the response to the epidemic. Nurses’ low willingness to provide care to patients with opioid use problems is a major barrier to implementing preventive measures.

Purpose: To explore the background, personal, and professional predictors that may influence nurses’ willingness to provide care to persons with opioid use problems.

Methods: A descriptive-correlational design was employed, yielding a sample of 158 nurses from three hospital settings. Nurses’ background characteristics were measured using an investigator-developed questionnaire. Personal attitudes were measured using Familiarity, Perceived Dangerousness, Fear, Social Distance, and Personal Responsibility Beliefs subscales, and the Short Understanding of Substance Abuse scale. Professional attitudes were measured using the Modified Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire, and the Perceived Role Responsibility and Self-efficacy subscales. For background characteristics as predictors, hierarchical linear regression was used, controlling for demographic characteristics. For personal and professional predictors, hierarchical linear regression was performed controlling for demographic and background characteristics.

Main Results: The findings revealed that the background characteristics of Specialty and Workplace were significantly associated with nurses’ willingness (Fchange(4,149)=15.299, p<.001) and accounted for an additional 28.8% of the variation in nurses’ willingness after controlling for demographic characteristics. The personal attitudes of Familiarity, Perceived Dangerousness, and Personal Responsibility Beliefs were significantly associated with nurses’ willingness (Fchange(7,141)=6.404, p<.001), accounting for an additional 16.5 % of the variation in nurses’ willingness after controlling for demographic and background characteristics. The professional attitude of Work Satisfaction was significantly associated with nurses’ willingness (Fchange(9,140)=22.116, p<.001), accounting for an additional 41.1 % of the variation in nurses’ willingness after controlling for demographic and background characteristics.

Conclusion: The findings from this study will be used as the foundation to develop interventions designed to target nurses’ willingness to provide care for this population in order to promote the transfer of opioid-acquired knowledge and skills into clinical practice.

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