Implementation of a Clozapine Clinical Toolkit at the Dubé Centre for Mental Health
An Assessment of Nursing Confidence and Knowledge
Abstract
Introduction: Clozapine is the most efficacious antipsychotic and it is the only approved pharmacotherapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Despite this, it is grossly underutilized as there are many barriers to its use. One barrier is health professional confidence and knowledge related to clozapine. A standardized, evidence-based protocol to care for patients on clozapine may increase appropriate use of this medication. A clozapine Clinical Toolkit (CTK) was developed and implemented in Vancouver, British Columbia, and, with permission, was adapted to the Dubé Centre for Mental Health (DCMH). Small group education session on the CTK were provided to the DCMH nursing staff. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the education sessions on nurses’ confidence and knowledge related to clozapine.
Methods: Groups of one to five nurses at the DCMH were provided mixed-media education sessions on the clozapine CTK. Sessions were led by one or two researchers and ranged between 15 to 20 minutes in duration. Pre- and post-education questionnaires were administered to assess nurses’ knowledge and confidence related to clozapine. Questionnaire completion was voluntary and anonymous. The results were analyzed using simple summary statistics.
Results & Conclusion: The pre-education questionnaire was completed by 81 nurses and 80 nurses completed the post-education questionnaire. The small group, mixed-media education sessions, improved nursing knowledge on three out of five clozapine knowledge-based questions and overall enhanced nurses’ confidence related to clozapine.
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