Mixing Meds and Milk: Evaluation of a Performance Gap Intervention for Provider Education in Breastfeeding and Maternal Medication Use

Kaci Bohn, Alejandra Fernandez, Stephanie Stroever, Dara O’Neil, Joan Enderle and Kaytlin Krutsch ()
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Kaci Bohn: School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA
Alejandra Fernandez: School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA
Stephanie Stroever: School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
Dara O’Neil: American Heart Association, Dallas, TX 75231, USA
Joan Enderle: American Heart Association, Dallas, TX 75231, USA
Kaytlin Krutsch: School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: The need for maternal medications is a known barrier to breastfeeding. Though most medications are compatible with lactation, healthcare providers use abundant caution, often viewing medications and breastfeeding as mutually exclusive. A dual intervention of an educational webinar and access to a mobile app for lactation pharmacology was used to enhance provider familiarity, confidence, and access to knowledge in medication use during breastfeeding. Surveys were administered before, one week after, and three months after the webinar to evaluate performance gap improvement. Usage data of the mobile app was collected over twelve months to monitor topic engagement. Results suggested the interventions temporarily increased provider confidence in maternal medication use during lactation; however, the increase was not sustained at three months. Even with one-time training and lactation-specific mobile app access, simply providing an informational resource is insufficient to support evidence-informed care for lactating patients. Longitudinal training on evidence-based medication safety is critical to care for the lactating dyad.

Keywords: breastfeeding; lactation; pharmacology; medication; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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