The impact of mandatory substance use disorder education on peer perception of impairment in nurse anesthesia care providers

Peer perceptions of substance use disorder and the considerable bias and stigma towards those suffering from or recovering from SUD were the central focus of this study. Stigma may lead to impaired providers trying to overcome SUD alone rather than seek assistance from their colleagues. A gap exists in the literature examining perceptions of impairment between nurse anesthesia care providers (NACPs) with and without SUD education, the impact of demographics, and personal and professional factors that influence those perceptions. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the presence of and the relationships between SUD education, demographics, and personal or professional factors and nurse anesthesia care providers’ attitudes toward impairment among their colleagues. An electronic survey was sent to American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology members. Participants responded to a 55-item questionnaire, which included the Perceptions of Nurse Impairment Inventory. An independent t-test revealed that perceptions were more positive in NACPs who received SUD education (M = 62.44, SD = 7.124) than those who did not (M = 64.17, SD = 6.919). A multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict perceptions of nurse impairment from demographic characteristics. The model explained 4.5% of the variance in perceptions of nurse impairment, F(4, 185) = 3.220, p = .014, adj. R2 = .045. None of the four variables added statistical significance to the prediction, p < .0005, although age made the largest unique contribution to the model (beta = .218). Similarly, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict perceptions of nurse impairment from personal and professional factors. The model explained 5.4% of the variance in the perception of nurse impairment. Although none of these five variables added statistical significance to the prediction, F(6, 165) = 1.511, p = .178, adj. R2 = .018, years of nursing experience made the largest unique contribution (beta = .154), followed by a personal history of SUD (beta = .138). Recommendations for future studies include a longitudinal-designed study to correlate peer perceptions of anesthesia care provider impairment with specific educational content requirements and the incidence of SUD and perception among those providers.