Co-producing a Drug and Alcohol Nursing Subject With Experts by Experience

Abstract

Nurses are frontline workers and have an important role to play in reducing the harms associated with alcohol and other drugs (AOD) dependence. AOD dependence is a major cause of preventable illness, particularly since the overprescribing of opioids has led to a worldwide overdose crisis. However, nurses receive little education in their undergraduate training about AOD or harm reduction strategies. Additionally, the 'war on drugs' and associations with criminality, often means that nurses hold negative attitudes towards people with AOD dependence. There is evidence that education can improve nurses' attitudes towards people with AOD use, especially when it includes narratives, knowledge and experiences of people with lived experience. In this paper, we outline how experts by experience (people with a lived experience of AOD dependence) and nurse educators developed a high-quality AOD undergraduate nursing subject using a co-production framework. We discuss how the co-production process allowed for the development of a unique and innovative nursing subject that provides students with a humanistic, realistic and pragmatic view of AOD dependence.

Integrated nursing care for people with combined mental health and substance use disorders

“…Goodhew et al . (2021) agree, as evidenced by their success in developing a high‐quality AOD undergraduate nursing subject that included all stakeholders and the perspectives of people with lived experience. Similarly, in a recent study undertaken in a regional mental health unit by Wilson et al .…”

Learning that cannot come from a book: An evaluation of an undergraduate alcohol and other drugs subject co‐produced with experts by experience

“…While government and key organizations recognize that AOD care should be accessible, ethical, collaborative, and person-centred (NADA 2020; NSW Ministry of Health 2020), PWUD continue to report experiences of discrimination and exclusion in health services as well as poor health outcomes (Van Boekel et al 2013). In order to foster better care and health outcomes, the knowledge and experience of PWUD should be embedded at all levels of policy development, service planning, and programme delivery (AVIL 2003;Department of Health 2013) To date, few studies have explored how co-produced AOD curricula can contribute to this aim, and thus, PWUD have largely been excluded from AOD curricula design and delivery (Goodhew et al 2021). This study found that co-produced undergraduate AOD nursing curricula not only promoted nursing students' understanding of the impact of stigma on PWUD, it also made this visible in relation to nursing practice and supported students to commit to ethical, collaborative, and person-centred approaches to care.…”

“…More detail about the collaborative process and development of the AOD nursing subject have also been reported elsewhere (see Goodhew et al . 2021).…”

“…The co‐produced subject focused on types of AOD use, factors leading to dependence, origins and impacts of stigma, humane and collaborative models of care, and evidence‐based harm reduction principles and practice (Goodhew et al . 2021). Table 1 outline's the AOD nursing subject learning objectives, and Table 2 provides details of the subject content across three modules.…”

“…Following the work of Roper et al (2018a) and others, for example Bellingham et al (2021), a team of nurse educators, EBE and clinical nurses came together to co-produce an undergraduate AOD nursing subject. The co-produced subject focused on types of AOD use, factors leading to dependence, origins and impacts of stigma, humane and collaborative models of care, and evidence-based harm reduction principles and practice (Goodhew et al 2021). Table 1 outline's the AOD nursing subject learning objectives, and Table 2 provides details of the subject content across three modules.…”