The effects of an online educational program on nurse practitioners' knowledge of obstructive sleep apnea in adults

Purpose This study was conducted to determine the effects of an online educational program on nurse practitioner's (NP's) knowledge of identifying and evaluating adults at‐risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Data sources Knowledge was assessed with a 15 question pre‐test and post‐test, after a 53 minute narrated PowerPoint educational session. Pre‐test and post‐test answers were compared to determine the change in knowledge. Fifty‐four participants entered the study, and 38 (70.4%) completed. Conclusions NPs that completed the entire OSA program (n = 38) had a significant improvement in post‐test scores as compared to pre‐test scores (p < .001, t(37 = −5.024). This was particularly evident (p = .05) in the areas of clinical prevalence, routine health evaluation, signs and symptoms, high risk situations and screening tools. After the educational session, 97.4% of participants indicated they were “very likely” or “likely” to evaluate their patients for OSA. Implications for Practice NPs have limited formal education on sleep disorders, although are in a key position to make a significant impact on evaluating adults for OSA. Regular screening to identify adults with OSA would likely lead to improving the rate of diagnosis and reducing the associated chronic health problems.