Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Friday, July 23, 2004
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Are Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Communicating With Their Patients About Over-the-Counter Medications and Herbal Products?
Louise Carol Waszak, PhD, CRNP, APRN, BC, Health Promotion and Development, Health Promotion and Development, University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
OBJECTIVES: This study is to determine the communication patterns between Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and their patients regarding OTC and herbal product use and to determine the APRNs information needs for these products. DESIGN: 300 surveys were mailed to APRN in primary care settings. SAMPLE: The 123 APRNs responding to the survey averaged 16.7 years of nursing experience and 10 years as an APRN. The average number a patient encounters per day was 11.5-25. FINDINGS: 74% of the APRNs reported asking their patients about OTC use but only 35% inquired about herbal product use. Most common OTCs discussed were acetaminophen (96%) ibuprofen (64%), multivitamins (60%), psuedonephrine (40%) and diphenhydramine (40%). Most commonly discussed herbal products were Ginseng (15%), glucosamine and chondroitin (14%), Echinacea (13%), St. John’s Wort (9%) and Ginkgo biloba (9%). 75% of the APRNs rated their knowledge of OTCs as good to excellent while 86% believed they only have a fair to poor understanding of herbal products. For OTC information APRNs used professional journals (65%), books (52%) and newsletters (35%) as references indicating an 83% satisfaction rate with the information as suitable for patient education. Journals (43%), Internet sites (26%) and books (22%) were used as resources for herbal products with only a 26% satisfaction rate for patient education indicating the need for more information on herbal-drug and herbal-food interactions. Continuing education programs (48%) and journal articles (43%) were highly preferred for receiving the most current information on OTCs and herbals as compared newsletters (17%) and Internet nursing listservs (4%). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that APRNs must be educated to discuss OTCs and herbal products with their patients. In addition, timely updates on both OTCs and herbals need to be readily accessible in order for the APRN to provide education on the safe use of these products.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004