Date on Paper

7-2020

Document Type

Doctoral Paper

Degree Name

D.N.P.

Department

Nursing

Committee Chair

Coty, Mary-Beth

Committee Member

Clark, Rudy

Author's Keywords

serotonin syndrome; serotonin toxicity; education; long-term care

Abstract

Background: Serotonin Syndrome (SS) is recognized by a combination of mental status changes, neuromuscular hyperactivity, and autonomic hyperactivity (Volpi-Abadie, Kaye, & Kaye, 2013). Despite the severity and commonality of SS, it is an under reported and an under treated condition (Boyer, 2018). The purpose of this project was to 1) implement an education module on SS using a pretest and posttest design to increase LTC staff knowledge, and 2) evaluate the effectiveness (e.g., confidence level, satisfaction) of the intervention among nursing staff. Method: An education module was implemented focusing on recognizing and treating SS in aging adults. A pretest-posttest design was used to measure participant knowledge of SS. Participants consisting of nursing staff at a long-term care (LTC) facility (i.e., CNAs, LPNs, and RNs) completed a questionnaire at the end of the project to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Results: There was a significant increase in knowledge from pretest to posttest with a pretest mean of 2.92 and a posttest mean of 6.61. Summary: Providing an educational module to LTC staff on SS facilitated an increase in LTC providers’ knowledge of patients at risk for developing SS, and increased assessment frequency of LTC residents at risk for SS.

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