Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
9-30-2026
First Advisor
Sandy King
Second Advisor
Veronica Arredondo
Abstract
Long-term benzodiazepine use is associated with dependence, withdrawal, cognitive impairment, falls, and overdose, yet tapering practices remain inconsistent in outpatient psychiatric care. This quality improvement project examined whether evidence-based deprescribing education improved psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners' (PMHNPs) self-efficacy, adherence to benzodiazepine tapering guidelines, and active prescription outcomes. The Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle guided implementation, the ADKAR Model guided change, Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory provided the theoretical framework, and the Stetler Model supported evidence translation. The project employed a quantitative, quasi-experimental, single-group pretest-posttest design and involved three PMHNPs from one outpatient psychiatric practice. Participants received one 20-minute educational session based on American Society of Addiction Medicine benzodiazepine tapering guidelines. Provider self-efficacy was measured using the Deprescribing Self-Efficacy Survey, and 30 paired patient records were evaluated using an investigator-developed Benzodiazepine Prescription Tracking Tool. Mean self-efficacy scores increased from 80.74 (SD = 3.90) to 98.89 (SD = 1.11). An exploratory paired-samples t test showed significant improvement, t(2) = 8.80, p = .013. Taper-plan documentation increased from 30.0% to 93.3%, while protocol adherence increased from 10.0% to 93.3%. Twenty-one patients (70.0%) initiated tapering or received a dose reduction, although all 30 prescriptions remained active. This project showed that brief provider education improved self-efficacy, documentation, and evidence-based deprescribing practices at the project site and may support safer prescribing practices in outpatient psychiatric care.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Tosin, Addeh, "The Impact of Evidence-Based Benzodiazepine Tapering Guidelines in an Outpatient Psychiatric Setting: A Quality Improvement Project" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 394.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/394
