Abstract 35: Integrating Clinical Trials Into Comprehensive Stroke Education for Inpatient Nurses

Abstract

Introduction: A major challenge in the implementation of clinical trials is the lack of integration of research into the clinical practice of frontline staff. The University of Minnesota partnered with the M Health Fairview (MHFV) System to incorporate stroke clinical trials into the annual comprehensive stroke education courses. While not required by the stroke accreditation curriculum standards, embedding research topics into ongoing stroke education is a novel practice that broadly increases awareness of clinical research with the frontline staff caring for stroke patients. Methods: In 2019, the comprehensive stroke class was updated to include a section for stroke trials. The research topics include: a brief description of study team roles, an overview of the impact of clinical trials on EBP, results for published trials, updates on current clinical trials, and the impact on nursing workflow. The number of attendees for each session from 2019-June 2023 were recorded along with anonymous comments about the presentation. The total number of subjects enrolled in acute, inpatient, and outpatient stroke trials in MHFV were compiled. Results: The comprehensive stroke class was attended by MHFV nurses 1,667 times. Interest in research was noted 77 times in the comments and research was ranked 3rd “most interesting” topic presented in 2019. A total of 276 patients were enrolled in stroke research in that timeframe. Conclusion: While no direct correlation can be drawn to trial enrollment, the volume of learners demonstrates broad dissemination of stroke trials information to frontline staff caring for stroke patients and the collection of positive feedback shows an interest in the topic. Incorporating clinical trials education into established comprehensive stroke education increases awareness of clinical trials and facilitates integration of research into clinical workflows with a higher acceptance of clinical trial efforts by frontline staff.