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Exploring The Benefits Of A Collaboration Between Behavioral Health Coaches And Clinicians, Devan White Jan 2023

Exploring The Benefits Of A Collaboration Between Behavioral Health Coaches And Clinicians, Devan White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study addressed how to best use health coaches in the field of behavioral health to improve the accessibility and outreach of a new program launched by the target organization that emphasizes coaching as an intervention for improving well-being and mental fitness. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the potential influence of coaching within the behavioral health field and explore how health coaches could partner with clinicians or behavioral health leaders to allow for more collaboration and accessibility to services. The RQs centered on how health coaches might support the treatment of those who have …


Exploring The Benefits Of A Collaboration Between Behavioral Health Coaches And Clinicians, Devan White Jan 2023

Exploring The Benefits Of A Collaboration Between Behavioral Health Coaches And Clinicians, Devan White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study addressed how to best use health coaches in the field of behavioral health to improve the accessibility and outreach of a new program launched by the target organization that emphasizes coaching as an intervention for improving well-being and mental fitness. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the potential influence of coaching within the behavioral health field and explore how health coaches could partner with clinicians or behavioral health leaders to allow for more collaboration and accessibility to services. The RQs centered on how health coaches might support the treatment of those who have …


Improving Veteran’S Care Outcomes With The Implementation Of Care Coordination, Katrina Ann Canady Jan 2023

Improving Veteran’S Care Outcomes With The Implementation Of Care Coordination, Katrina Ann Canady

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAstute care coordination is essential to eliminating fragmented care, duplication of services, medication errors, and unnecessary emergency rooms visits. This Doctor of Nursing practice project was a quality improvement (QI) initiative that addressed the gap in practice regarding RN care managers who were not consistently performing care coordination as outlined by the office of community care at the project site. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness that an educational intervention had on the RN care managers’ abilities to perform care coordination. The care coordination model (CCM) served as the project framework because it provides a systematic …


Improving Veteran’S Care Outcomes With The Implementation Of Care Coordination, Katrina Ann Canady Jan 2023

Improving Veteran’S Care Outcomes With The Implementation Of Care Coordination, Katrina Ann Canady

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAstute care coordination is essential to eliminating fragmented care, duplication of services, medication errors, and unnecessary emergency rooms visits. This Doctor of Nursing practice project was a quality improvement (QI) initiative that addressed the gap in practice regarding RN care managers who were not consistently performing care coordination as outlined by the office of community care at the project site. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness that an educational intervention had on the RN care managers’ abilities to perform care coordination. The care coordination model (CCM) served as the project framework because it provides a systematic …


Nursing Education For Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections In Intensive Care Units, Carren Sandra Mullings Jan 2022

Nursing Education For Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections In Intensive Care Units, Carren Sandra Mullings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) are the most acquired hospital infection in the United States. CLABSI is caused by bacteria that enter the bloodstream through a central line. In the United States, CLABSI has a mortality rate of 18%, and every year 250,000 people are infected. Of these, 30,000 patients die due to CLABSI infections, hospital stays are prolonged, and hospital costs are increased. Patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) are more exposed to CLABSI because of procedures that break tissues and skin, such as the insertion of a central line. A gap in practice was identified …


Understanding The Perspectives Of African American Gay And Bisexual Men Toward Hiv, Victor Onwezi , Ikechukwu Nwanguma Jan 2022

Understanding The Perspectives Of African American Gay And Bisexual Men Toward Hiv, Victor Onwezi , Ikechukwu Nwanguma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is an urgent need to stop the HIV epidemic among African American gay and bisexual men in the United States. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify the health issues responsible for the HIV epidemic among African gay and bisexual men. Two theoretical frameworks that guided the study were the transtheoretical model and the syndemic theory. The study's research involved understanding African American gay and bisexual men's perspective toward HIV infections and their understanding of possible reasons HIV rates appear to increase in their community. Semi-structured telephone interviews and field notes were used to collect primary …


Comparison Of Advance Care Planning Interventions And Older Adults’ Advance Directive Completion Rates, Tammy Biehler Jan 2020

Comparison Of Advance Care Planning Interventions And Older Adults’ Advance Directive Completion Rates, Tammy Biehler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the benefits of advance care planning (ACP), only one third of older adults in the United States have completed it. To address this gap, health care organizations are implementing ACP programs to engage older adults in the process. These programs can be delivered in various ways, including 1:1 conversations, classes, and web-based tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate which ACP option was associated with highest participation and advance directive (AD) completion rates in older adults. Social cognitive theory provided the framework to understand the impact the ACP environment and personal characteristics’ have on the odds …


Improving Interdepartmental Care Collaboration For Pregnant Patients, Michelle Anne Ott Jan 2019

Improving Interdepartmental Care Collaboration For Pregnant Patients, Michelle Anne Ott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Communication is vital to improve patient care outcomes, especially with high acuity patients. Pregnant patients differ from other patient populations because their care involves 2 entities: the patient (mother-to-be) and her unborn fetus. There has been a noted gap in communication and care collaboration between the emergency department (ED) and obstetric (OB) teams at the project site, resulting in delays for patients and lack of appropriate maternal/fetal assessment and contributing negatively to patients' experiences. Using transitions theory and the Rosswurm and Larrabee model, a clinical practice guideline (CPG) inclusive of an obstetrically focused algorithm was developed and presented for use …


Development Of An Online Resource Manual And Online Protocol To Facilitate Care Coordination, Leonore Bingham Jan 2019

Development Of An Online Resource Manual And Online Protocol To Facilitate Care Coordination, Leonore Bingham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Persons with disabilities tend to be in poorer health compared to those without disabilities, and timely coordination of care is essential for maintaining optimal health and wellness. The problem addressed in the Care Coordination Referral Project was the lack of timely access to health care and preventive care services for clients with disabilities in the organization for which this project was developed. Using the appraisal of guidelines research and evaluation II model, the purpose of this DNP project was to analyze and synthesize the evidence-based literature to support the project and develop an online health care resource manual and protocol. …


Improving Outcomes For Congestive Heart Failure Patients, Diana Lee Collins Jan 2018

Improving Outcomes For Congestive Heart Failure Patients, Diana Lee Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managing patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF) requires coordination with subspecialties and frequent outpatient monitoring. The lack of communication among health care providers and patients can result in a gap in practice when managing patients with CHF in the outpatient setting. Guided by the chronic care model, this quality improvement project was an initiative to develop and implement a 6-week self-care management program provided by nurse practitioners in an outpatient primary care practice. The goal of the project was to improve the day-to-day self-care management of patients with CHF and addressed the practice-focused question of whether a 6-week CHF …


Access To Care: Assessment Of Barriers In Two Rural Iowa Communities, Jean M. Osgood Jan 2017

Access To Care: Assessment Of Barriers In Two Rural Iowa Communities, Jean M. Osgood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The ability to access primary care services within the local community has a direct impact on the health and wellness of the community. Individuals living in rural settings face multiple challenges when attempting to access care. The purpose of this retrospective project was to identify barriers in 2 rural, underserved communities and make recommendations for process changes that could reduce these barriers. Data were gathered from 2 critical access hospitals and 2 rural health clinics located in rural, underserved areas in Iowa. Both hospitals identified access to health services as an issue within their communities. Administrative data were gathered on …


Attitudes And Beliefs Of Registered Retired And Registry Nurses Regarding Holistic Spiritual Care, Beverly S. Ward Jan 2015

Attitudes And Beliefs Of Registered Retired And Registry Nurses Regarding Holistic Spiritual Care, Beverly S. Ward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of holistic spiritual care is to assess and provide for the spiritual needs of patients. Current literature indicates that holistic spiritual care is important to the healthcare of patients. Researchers suggest that nurses who practice holistic spiritual care are more aware of the attributes of caring, respect, and emotional support. This project study addressed a problem at the research site reported by local community nurses and holistic spiritual care experts of nurses not practicing holistic spiritual care. Mezirow's transformational learning theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this qualitative study, which was designed to examine the attitudes …


Steps To Reducing Heart Failure Hospital Readmissions Through Improvement In Outpatient Care, Paticia Laubach Dunn Jan 2015

Steps To Reducing Heart Failure Hospital Readmissions Through Improvement In Outpatient Care, Paticia Laubach Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The outpatient care of the heart failure (HF) patient is fragmented due to the lack of evidence-based practice guidelines use. The primary goal of this project was to improve the care of the HF patient in the outpatient arena through use of clinical pathways using the logic model as the project framework. The intervention was carried out over a 4-week period on a convenience, random sample of patients (n = 80) attending a cardiology practice. The patients were recruited from 2 physicians' patient populations and were selected based on an adult diagnosis of HF, reduced ejection fraction of <40% at some point in time, and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II-V. Comparisons were made in the documentation of care between patients on or off the pathway. The intervention included documentation of patient education, care follow-up, medications, NYHA functional class, and symptom exacerbation, documented in the electronic medical record. The quality of care data were evaluated based on 3 of the Joint Commission core measures for outpatient care of the HF patient. Additional data were collected regarding use of the clinical pathway based on provider and week of implementation. Data were analyzed via a Chi-square test of independence comparing pathway use by provider and use of pathway as study progressed. The comparative results show statistically significant differences in use of the pathway by provider and a statistically significant increase in use during the project . The quality of care results varied in statistical significance. The pathway utilization increased over time and provided a method for standardizing documentation of care for the HF patient in this outpatient clinic, a benefit for HF patients and providers in this cardiology practice and beyond.