Opioid use disorder (OUD), declared a national epidemic in 2017, remains at epidemic statistics (Determination that a public health emergency exists, 2017). According to the Centers for Disease Control (2018), prescription and opioid use is the main factor in overdose deaths of which 115 Americans die every day. This epidemic affects the entire family unit. The effects begin in the earliest stages of life such as when a baby is born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). The number of babies being born with NAS continues to rise and is as high as six out of every 1000 births (Rappleye, McHugh, & Farrow, 2017). There are approximately 8.7 million children living in an unstable environment with an adult who has a substance use disorder (Lipari & Van Horn, 2017). There are also effects on other members of the family including spouses, parents, even extended family. Among these effects are financial, parenting, and abuse. The reality is that OUD will touch the careers of future generations of nurses no matter their chosen setting of work. They need to be armed with the information and tools to do their part to combat this epidemic. With this knowledge, it is critical to incorporate opioid addiction education into the nursing school curriculum both in the undergraduate and graduate programs.
Methods:
Research has shown that the unfolding case study is a beneficial pedagogical modality (Kaylor & Strickland, 2015). It allows for the building of new information and the expansion of critical thinking by encouraging the student to assess and ask questions to receive further information (Carter & Welch, 2016).
Results:
An unfolding case study was created that incorporates the entire family, centered on a person who becomes addicted to opioids after being in a car accident. The scenario includes the opioid addicted person along with the ramifications of opioid addiction on the family unit. The scenario includes simulations, activities such as plotting on and using a pediatric growth chart, and discussion topics.
Conclusion:
We have the ability to thread the scenario throughout the undergraduate curriculum from assessment to critical care. The scenario can continue into the graduate program of the adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner tract. This also allows for interdisciplinary use of the case study.