Exploring the impact of brief training on student pharmacists' naloxone communication skills

OBJECTIVE: To explore: a) whether videos that model naloxone communication skills improve student pharmacists' naloxone knowledge, self-efficacy and communication skills and b) whether outcomes differ between video versus written materials. METHODS: Student pharmacists (N = 31) were randomized to either video or written materials training. Changes in naloxone dispensing barriers, self-efficacy, and naloxone knowledge were assessed via survey, while changes in naloxone communication were measured with a standardized patient assessment. RESULTS: For the entire sample, knowledge and self-efficacy significantly increased and barriers to dispensing decreased. Communication improved significantly in both groups. In unadjusted analyses, students with video resources reported higher self-efficacy post-training. However, analyses that controlled for demographic characteristics and baseline measures found that training type did not significantly predict any outcome. CONCLUSION: Brief written or video-based naloxone training improved students' knowledge, self-efficacy, and communication. Given the small sample, results are inconclusive regarding impact of training material type on outcomes. INNOVATION: Teaching student pharmacists how to communicate about naloxone is important given increasing opioid overdose death rates. This study was innovative because it examined the impact of two training material types that can be delivered asynchronously and that pharmacy programs could incorporate into their curricula to improve students' naloxone communication skills.