Opioid Use
Conditions
Brief summary
Opioids are commonly prescribed for surgical patients to treat moderate to severe pain after surgery. However, opioids can be associated with serious complications such as respiratory depression and death. Currently, it is not routine practice to provide standardized written materials to surgical patients about the risks of opioids and how to safely use opioids after surgery. Investigator has developed an educational pamphlet specifically for surgical patients to educate them about the safe use of opioids. The objective of this study is to determine whether the pamphlet increases surgical patients' knowledge about the safe use, proper storage and disposal of opioids.
Detailed description
Participants presenting to the preoperative clinic will be recruited for this trial. After informed consent is obtained, patients will be randomized to one of 2 groups: 1) educational pamphlet and standard care, or 2) control group - standard care (no pamphlet) All patients will complete the opioid knowledge questionnaire to test baseline knowledge on opioids. If patient is randomized to the educational pamphlet and standard care, patient will receive the educational pamphlet and standard care. After the patient reviews the pamphlet, the patient will complete the questionnaire again. If the patient is randomized to the control group, the patient will receive the usual standard of care. All patients will be contacted by telephone 15 days and 30 days after surgery to conduct the follow-up.
Interventions
OTHEREducational
Educational pamphlet will be given to intervention group.
Sponsors
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
University Health Network, Toronto
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* All English speaking * Adult (≥18 yrs) surgical patients presenting to the Preoperative Clinic
Exclusion criteria
* Patients who are on opioids for chronic pain * Patients have taken opioids in the past 30 days * Patients who are unable to read and understand English
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in knowledge | day 1 | Change in knowledge on safe opioid use questionnaire immediately post-education. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge retention | 15 and 30 days | Knowledge retention of safe opioid use questionnaire 15 days/30 days post-education. Proper disposal of unused opioids. |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed