Evaluation of Two Educational Modalities for the Clinical Practice Guideline for Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain for US Military Physicians

Abstract

Introduction: The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for the Management of Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain was updated in 2017 with targeted guidance to provide safe opioid use while mitigating the increasing levels of prescription opioid misuse among military personnel. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of two educational training modalities for the CPG (an online training [OLT] module and a mobile app) on provider's knowledge, practices, and comfort with the CPG. The OLT was a self-paced interactive slide-based module that emphasized practical application, and the app provided information on the revised CPG and provider and patient resources. Methods: Active duty providers (N = 56) were randomly assigned to one of four groups (OLT only, app only, OLT and app combined, or neither OLT nor the app), and they completed a pre-test and an 8-week post-test. Results: Compared with those who received neither intervention, providers who received OLT only or the app only showed significant increases in knowledge over time. The combination of both OLT and app did not seem to significantly increase knowledge above either the OLT or the app alone. Neither the OLT, the app, nor their combination significantly increased either practices or comfort over time. Discussion: These results show that use of these educational tools, individually, was associated with an increase in provider knowledge, suggesting that these tools constitute a valuable addition to the available resources to optimize CPG implementation.