Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Open Access
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
Year Degree Awarded
2021
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/22866457
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
dual diagnosis, mental health disorders, substance use disorders, primary care providers, education, interventions
Advisor
Gabrielle Abelard, DNP, PMHNP, PMHCNS- BC
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: Many adults in the United States suffer from mental health and substance use disorders. Due to personal and structural barriers, care is not always received by those who suffer with a dual diagnosis. Lack of education among primary care healthcare providers is a barrier to dual diagnosis treatment. The aim of this project was to present and summarize evidence to increase the providers knowledge, assessment, and confidence levels in treatment of these disorders. Methods: This project was designed using a quality improvement (QI) approach to increase the knowledge, and confidence of primary care healthcare providers through an educational PowerPoint presentation. Pre- and posttest surveys were utilized to assess confidence, skills, and knowledge gained. Results: Three participants from one family medical practice in western Massachusetts participated in an education intervention that included a pretest, presentation with toolkit, and posttest. An increase occurred in the knowledge-based portion of the survey, pretest scores (M = 50.00), and posttest scores (M = 86.67). Confidence levels were not found to have increased significantly for mental health or substance use disorder treatment. Conclusion: Providers were found to have improvement in the knowledge-based portions of the survey. However, the project’s small sample size and time frame may have contributed to the lack of change in the confidence levels. Further study with a larger sample size may be helpful to determine if the intervention would be beneficial for education in the primary care health care setting.
Keywords: dual diagnosis, mental health disorders, substance use disorders, primary care providers, education, interventions
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.