Measuring the Influence of Curricular Content and Personal Stories on Substance Use Stigma.

BACKGROUND

Understanding of the lived experience is an important educational strategy for improving attitudes toward stigmatized patient groups. This study evaluated the influence of a personal story intervention on nursing students' attitudes toward people who use opioids and measured attitudinal change from students' regular mental health and addictions curriculum.

METHOD: This study used a single-group longitudinal design. Stigma outcomes were measured using the Opening Minds Provider Attitudes Toward Opioid Use Scale. Mean scores were analyzed for four time periods: control, social contact intervention, curricular component, and 3-month follow-up. Qualitative feedback also was collected.

RESULTS

Stigma scores improved significantly from pre- to postsocial contact intervention. No differences were observed for curricular content, control period, or follow-up. Qualitative findings suggest the personal story was associated with positive student-reported attitudes.

CONCLUSION

Integrating personal story interventions with traditional curriculum elements is a promising educational approach for improving perceptions and behaviors of nursing students toward people who use drugs. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(5):264-267.].