As part of mandatory on-going nursing education, the investigators have incorporated identical information into two distinct web-based learning formats - the traditional linear PowerPoint format (with voice-over) and a new interactive format developed with central nursing education.

The investigators will cluster randomize nurses by floor to receive either the traditional education or the new interactive education, and evaluate the impact on administration of VTE prophylaxis doses administered by nurses before and after education. All nurses on a floor will receive the same educational format. If one method of education results in statistically significant improvement in VTE prophylaxis administration, the investigators will cross over to deliver the superior education format to all nurses who originally were given the less effective method.

BACKGROUND

• In an attempt to improve venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis adherence the investigators carried out qualitative studies to obtain patients' viewpoints on how nurses should be educated about VTE prevention and to assess nurses' beliefs and perceptions about pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis

• The investigators observed deficiencies in nurses' knowledge and misconceptions about VTE prophylaxis that likely lowers adherence to administration of prescribed VTE prophylaxis doses

• As a part of our original Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) proposal, the investigators planned to educate nurses to address the observed deficiencies and misconceptions and improve their ability to communicate effectively with patients

  • Historically, nurse education has been done via a linear, PowerPoint-based platform with voice-over but with no interactive component (TRADITIONAL)
  • A newer platform for nurse education became available for use and includes scenario-based teaching, ongoing assessment, and immediate remediation. Most importantly, it is a highly interactive product (CONTEMPORARY)

STUDY DESIGN AND ANALYTIC PLAN

• Research hypotheses

  • Primary: Nurse participants who receive either of these interventions will improve administration of prescribed VTE prophylaxis evidenced by a decrease in frequency of non-administered doses of VTE prophylaxis, compared with their frequency at baseline.
  • Secondary: Nurse participants who receive the contemporary education format will have a larger decrease in frequency of missed doses of VTE prophylaxis compared with those who participate in the traditional education format.

• Study Design

  • Cluster Randomized Trial 21 floors, block randomized by floor type (medicine [n=11] vs. surgery [n=10]) and (ICU [n=5] vs. non-ICU [n=16]) All nurses on each floor are assigned the same education type to mitigate issues related to contamination if nurses discuss the education with their colleagues

• Primary Outcome measure: Proportion of non-administered doses of pharmacological VTE prophylaxis (dose level)

• Secondary Outcome Measures:

  • Proportion of doses documented as missed due to patient refusal (dose level)
  • Proportion of patients with any VTE (patient level)
  • Proportion of patients with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) (patient level)
  • Proportion of patients with Pulmonary Embolism (PE) (patient level)

• Analytic methods

  • Primary analyses - Intention-to-treat (includes all nurses assigned, whether or not they completed the education) Is there a difference between units allocated to either of the interventions comparing their outcome measure to their baseline measure? Is there a difference comparing those who received the contemporary education format vs. the traditional education format?
  • Secondary analysis - Per protocol (includes only nurses who completed the education) Do nurses who receive education perform better (improved administration of prescribed VTE prophylaxis) than those who did not? Do nurses who received the education in the contemporary format perform better than those who received it in the traditional format

Inclusion Criteria:

• Nurses on selected surgical and medical floors at Johns Hopkins Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• Nurses who were not permanently associated with one of the 21 hospital floors (e.g. traveling nurse, float nurse) were excluded from this study

Outcomes assessed were analyzed on patient visit level as each encounter represents a unique participant outcome. Patient A might receive all doses during their first visit and miss doses during a second visit. Patient A might have been in different Arms during different visits. Baseline information was only collected during the pre-education phase

1 year

Adverse events were reported at patient visit level

This trial was conducted in a single center potentially limiting the generalizability of our findings. The differences associated with education by specific clinical department in the current study was not explored.

Within strata, a coin toss (ERH) was used to randomize floors into either the Dynamic education arm or the Static education arm. Based on the outcome of the coin toss, nurses were then remotely assigned the online education module by an institutional nurse educator (DLS). The assigned educational module then appeared in the nurse's list of education assignments for completion within the institutional Learning Management System. Nurses are required to complete clinically relevant education regularly as part of ongoing professional practice and a waiver of consent was provided by the IRB; therefore nurses were not aware of their participation in a trial nor were they aware that two education modules existed. Additionally, the VTE prophylaxis medication non-administration dataset provided to the biostatistical team (i.e. outcomes assessors) for analysis was blinded by treatment arm and department.