Digital Commons Network^™

To Educate Low Health Literacy Populations On The Best Practices Related To Childhood Immunizations, Mary Catherine Mantler, Myra Sternlieb

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Health literacy is the ability to use basic skills that impact effective healthcare¹. Childhood immunizations have dramatically reduced morbidity annually². However, with recent anti-immunization propaganda, misinformation results in reduced immunization rates, especially in low literacy populations. The National Immunization Survey found that nearly all childhood immunization coverage is reduced in children born in 2020-2021 than in their peers born in 2018-2019, especially among Latino youth compared to their white counterparts³. Researchers concluded that vaccine rates improved with higher health literacy rates, suggesting an understanding of provided material is crucial in helping adults perform informed …

Understanding The Influence Of Parental Knowledge And Awareness On Conversations About Osec, Trey Gottman

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Current literature suggests that parents’ lack of knowledge and awareness of OSEC may negatively impact their willingness to initiate conversations about the topic with their children, acknowledge warning signs of OSEC, and seek relevant educational sources regarding OSEC. The purpose of this study is to explore parents’ knowledge of OSEC, whether they are currently having conversations about OSEC with their children, and their interest in educational resources about OSEC through convenience sampling with a simple questionnaire. This study finds evidence supporting the idea that, regardless of parents’ knowledge of OSEC, they are having conversations with their children about the topic. …

Exploring The Graduate Research Assistant Experience: Perspectives Of Nursing Phd Students, Caden Mcintire, Mitzi Pestaner, Linda Bolin

Biennial Convention (CONV)

This research project studied nursing PhD students at East Carolina University’s College of Nursing. These students have the opportunity to serve as graduate research assistants (GRAs) throughout their enrollment in the program. GRAs work with faculty on various research projects, including transcription services, recruitment, and data analysis. Given that less than 1% of nurses hold a PhD in nursing and that many who enroll do not graduate, evaluating the perspectives of current and former GRAs can provide valuable insights into our research question: How does serving as a GRA impact PhD nursing students’ academic progress and career trajectories? Answering this …

Impact Of Novel Rheumatic Heart Disease Education On Rwandan Nurses' Knowledge And Skills, Julie Carragher

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Untreated group A streptococcus pharyngitis, along with the resulting post-infection sequelae of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) of young susceptible individuals occurs in lower income countries, including Rwanda. This is largely due to limited access health care and inadequate knowledge about the detection and treatment of the infection. Approximately 33 million people worldwide live with RHD. In Rwanda, the prevalence of RHD is estimated at 6.8 per 1000 school children. With only nine cardiologists serving a population of nearly fourteen million, there is a significant gap in accessible RHD care across the country. In Rwanda, nurses, …

Critical Nursing Interventions For Post-Extubation Icu Patients, Estevao Frederico De Souza, Tricia M. Grinder, Sarah Rigsby, Samantha Vallespi

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction: The 24-to-72-hour period post-extubation is a critical phase for intensive care patients, and can result in many complications. Nurses must be expertly trained in the interventions available to reduce the risks associated with the procedure.

Objectives: This systematic review aims to critically evaluate the existing literature about nursing interventions associated with patients after extubation, providing evidence to guide the nursing practice to reduce extubation failure, reintubation rates, and hospital stays.

Methodology: This systematic review includes studies from CINAHL, PubMed Central, Medline, and Health Source Nursing Academic Edition, focusing on international peer-reviewed full-text research articles.

Setting: The study has a …

Critical Factors Influencing Breast Cancer Screening In Caribbean-American Women Of African Ancestry, Corvette V. Yacoob, Indra Hershorin, Michele Upvall, Ronica Subramoney

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States. Globally, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 14 seconds, underscoring the urgent need for early detection through screening to reduce mortality rates. Black women experience higher mortality rates than other ethnic groups, emphasizing the importance of early detection and screening in improving clinical outcomes.

Purpose: This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study explored key factors influencing breast cancer screening practices among Caribbean-American women of African ancestry, that aided in the development of …

The Association Between Loneliness And Mental Health In Underserved Communities, Ameemah Khan, Yu-Ping Chang

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background: Loneliness is a distressing emotional state that arises when an individual's actual social relationships do not align with their desired social connections. As loneliness becomes increasingly prevalent among adults, its adverse effects on mental health have grown more evident. Research links loneliness to poor sleep quality, suicidal ideation, severe depressive symptoms, and heightened stress. These effects are particularly pronounced in underserved communities, where social determinants of health disproportionately impact African Americans, contributing to poorer health outcomes. However, limited research explores the relationship between loneliness, sleep, and depression specifically within African American populations.

Purpose: This study aims to determine whether …

Rural Maternal Health And Information Exchange Challenges In Western New York, Stephanie Lynn Durfee, Sharon Hewner

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background/Purpose: Our pregnancy healthcare work in Western New York (WNY) has revealed a pressing issue: high-risk patients are often forced to seek care outside their communities, leading to significant delays in addressing their medical and social needs. Our research, focusing on poor pregnancy outcomes in WNY rural areas, underscores the urgency. The challenges of limited resources and distance from healthcare facilities make it difficult for these individuals to receive adequate pregnancy care, resulting in gaps in health information due to fragmented care and disparate health information exchange databases.

Methods: To address this, we used the AHRQ CCSR to manually review …

Factors Influencing Secondary Traumatic Stress In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses, Heemoon Lim, Hyejung Lee

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Secondary traumatic stress is a significant occupational hazard for healthcare providers, particularly neonatal intensive care unit nurses, who are frequently exposed to traumatic events while caring for newborns and managing the emotional distress of the newborns’ families. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among neonatal intensive care unit nurses, identify its influencing factors.

This cross-sectional study recruited 131 neonatal intensive care unit nurses from 22 hospitals in South Korea using convenience sampling. Among them, 13 nurses were selected for qualitative interviews through purposive sampling. Data were collected via an e-survey and in-depth interviews from August …

The Patient Violence Framework, Laura Graham, Jennifer Bail

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Patient Violence against nurses is a widespread problem resulting in both emotional and physical injury to the nurse. Emergency Department (ED) nurses are at an increased risk due to the volume and variety of the patients they serve, and the general chaotic environment of the ED; however, little research has been done examining the characteristics of patients who offend and the physical environment of the ED where the event happened. The aim of this three-article dissertation was to develop a more thorough understanding of the personal attributes (endogenous) of the individual patient and external (exogenous) factors of the ED setting …

The Parent Caregiving Experience Of School-Aged Children With Cancer, Sofia Flowers

Biennial Convention (CONV)

In 2023, roughly 9,000 children less than 15 years of age were diagnosed with cancer in the United States. This suggests that approximately 18,000 parents were caring for a child newly diagnosed with cancer. In this informal caregiving role, parents’ roles double as both parent to their child and serving as their healthcare advocate. Studying the parent caregiving perspective can provide valuable insights for the professional health care team to guide their practice. The purpose of this project was to characterize the symptom management and caregiving experiences of parents of school-aged children diagnosed with cancer. The project was a secondary …

Evaluating The Impact Of Educational Materials On Mental Health Using Smartphones, Christine L. Hober

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The purpose of this quality improvement project is to explore the impact of smartphone use on mental health issues and evaluate the effectiveness of educational emails with infographics designed to manage smartphone-related issues.

Specifically, the study aims to determine how different levels of smartphone engagement influence the mental health outcomes of sleep disturbances, anxiety, headaches, depression and overall well-being in adult women.

The background for this study is rooted in existing research that links excessive smartphone use to negative mental health outcomes, such as increased anxiety and depression (Twenge & Campbell, 2018). Despite growing concerns about these impacts, there is …

Conceptions Of Indigenous Child Development: Perspective Of Families And Health Professionals, Francisca Marquez-Doren, Camila Lucchini-Raies, Marcela Gonzalez-Aguero, Angelica Farías-Cancino

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction. The factors that deprive children of their rights are well known, and one of them is their belonging to indigenous peoples. Indigenous children in their early childhood are exposed to greater social inequalities, as they are born and develop in more unfavorable living conditions (Alarcón Muñoz et al., 2021; Pyerín & Weinstein, 2015). The percentage of poverty, deficits in education, social security and work is higher in indigenous early childhood (Pyerín & Weinstein, 2015). In Chile, children belonging to indigenous peoples account for around 14% of the population between 0 and 9 years of age, with the Mapuche, Aymara …

Reducing Moral Distress Through Improved Interprofessional Collaboration In End-Of-Life Care, Marissa Teresa Perino

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Inadequate interdisciplinary collaboration in end-of-life care can result in moral distress among nurses, reflecting conflicts between core nursing values and physician expectations. This quality improvement project seeks to reduce moral distress by enhancing collaboration between physicians and nurses in providing end-of-life care in a defined microsystem on the Transitional Care Unit (TCU). A pre-survey of registered nurses (RNs) revealed that moral distress occurs when caring for actively dying patients, regardless of their code status. Nurses identified a need for improved communication with physicians to facilitate timely implementation of comfort medication order sets and better address the palliative needs of these …

Huddle Up! A Quality Improvement Project To Improve Discharge Length Of Stay, Joshua S. Monsivais

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Prolonged discharge patient encounter length of stay (LOS) in emergency departments (ED) contributes to overcrowding, delayed care, and increased costs. This Quality Improvement (QI) project was initiated at a community, 42-bed Emergency Department that services approximately 75,000 patients annually to address the baseline average discharge LOS of 294 minutes from January 2024 - August 2024. The organizational goal for these discharged patients sits at 165 minutes. The project’s aim was to reduce discharge LOS by implementing structured TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) huddles to enhance communication, optimize patient flow, and improve throughput efficiency.

This …

Reducing The Strain On Emergency Medical Services: A Rural Community Nursing Intervention, Nikoli Yudin, Daniel Evoy, Cameron Kiersch, Robin Haugh

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction: Community nursing serves as an alternative healthcare model aimed to enhance access to care for patients who are Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas and have a chronic medical condition. Timely access to healthcare is essential to prevent frequent emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization.

Background: Over 80% of Medicare beneficiaries manage at least one chronic illness while 68% manage two or more. Populations in rural areas face significant barriers to healthcare access including provider shortages and geographic isolation. The community nursing intervention reduces ED visits and hospital admissions for Medicare patients with chronic disease in rural settings.

Methods: A …

The Effect Of Triaging Educational Training Program On Triaging Knowledge Self Efficacy And Accuracy, Sawsan Falatah, Janice Hawkins, Craig Cunningham

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Inaccurate triage decisions can also lead to increased length of patient stays in the emergency department, increased rehospitalizations, and increased risk of mortality, all of which are quality of care indicators. Anecdotal evidence from the emergency department leadership, however, suggests that inaccurate triaging decisions are being made. In addition, 60 percent of a limited sample of 30 charts that were recently reviewed contained inaccurate triaging decisions. The accuracy of these triaging decisions has not been systematically evaluated at our facility. Triaging educational training programs that include systematic audits of triaging decisions have been shown to improve the sustained accuracy of …

Nurses' Perceptions On Cyber Risk Disclosure To Cied Patients: Right To Know, Safety, And Well-Being, Leanne Torgersen, Stefan M. Schulz

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Subject Population: Nurses will be invited to participate in an online questionnaire to understand their perceptions of 1) whether cyber risk language should be included in informed consents, 2) what perceived barriers exist when communicating cyber risks to patients (people, process and/or policy); 3) how can nursing facilitate solutions in supporting patient advocacy, improving nursing practice standards, and influencing policy change.

Research Design: This cross-sectional convergent parallel mixed-methods research design incorporates a hermeneutical approach for the qualitative assessment. The objective is to understand how nurses view the relationship between advocating for patients’ right to know, ethical adherence in patient care, …

An Integrative Review Of Telehealth For Rural Veterans, Olivia Palczewski, Mary Clare K. Houlihan

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction: Telehealth may be a sustainable healthcare delivery option for rural veterans as it allows for increased access to services and can lead to improved healthcare outcomes; however, the use of telehealth in this population is understudied.¹ Accordingly, the purpose of this integrative review was to analyze the barriers, outcomes, and effectiveness of telehealth for rural veterans. Levesque’s Patient-Centered Access to Health Care Framework guided this review as it considers supply-side and demand-side dimensions that influence how individuals access healthcare.²

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in the PubMed and Scopus databases. The framework outlined in Whittemore …

Mentoring Inconsistencies In The Promotion And Tenure Journey Of Black Nursing Faculty, Wilma J. Calvert, Mopelola T. Adeola, E. Paulette Isaac-Savage, Jessica Keller

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background and Purpose: The lack of racial diversity in nursing academia has the potential to affect efforts to recruit and retain diverse nursing students and diversify the nursing workforce, which research demonstrates helps achieve health equity (Montgomery et al., 2021). Few nurses from underrepresented racial groups with advanced degrees seek careers in the academy. Data from American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2024) indicate that 22% of full-time nursing school faculty self-identify as racial minorities. Promotion and tenure (P/T) is often perceived as a sign of success in the academy. Unfortunately, it is often difficult for minority faculty, as …

Virtual Reality, De-Escalation Training & Non-Traditional Interprofessional Collaboration, Carrie D. Hintz

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Healthcare workers practice in volatile environments, where they are five times more likely to experience violence at work than any other profession in the United States (Jones et al., 2023). Approximately 72% of that violence has been classified as “verbal,” with physical violence being attributed to the other 28% (Sari et al., 2023). The Joint Commission (2019) (TJC) highlighted the need for de-escalation training in healthcare, especially given the rise of violence and aggression in U.S. healthcare settings.

Virtual reality-based simulations aim to provide real-world experiences in a simulated environment that provide students with safe learning environments to learn new …

Information Literacy: Ensuring Evidence-Based Practice In The Era Of Connectivity, Marianne E. Hess, Robyn Smith

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The rapid advancement of technology presents both opportunities and challenges in nursing. To promote nursing excellence, nurses respect the importance of using scholarly websites and publications. With technological advancements and multimedia resources offering convenience, they also pose risks regarding the accuracy and reliability of information accessed through non-scholarly sources. The purpose of this presentation examines information literacy in the clinical setting and how the clinical nurse should respond to the challenges of the overabundance of information.

In today’s readily accessible high-tech world, the nurse may be drawn to the convenience and habitual use of accessible learning materials using a non-scholarly …

Thriving Not Surviving: A Thriving Nursing Student Concept Analysis, Laura Skoronski Chavez

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The primary aim of this review was to complete a concept analysis of a thriving nursing student. The overall goal was to produce a new, more holistic definition of a thriving nursing student instead of a successful nursing student.

With the current nursing shortage, many nursing programs are focused on retention and the success of their graduates (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2023). This has shifted focus not just on success as an end-product, but early identification of at-risk students and methods to help them achieve academic achievement (Williams & Dahan, 2022). Because of this shift, the current …

Tree Of Life, Sandra Rogers, Brooke Judd, Mollie Slugantz

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction / Background: Most people understand the term death. However, in the world of organ donation, death can have different meanings. Donation after brain death (DBD) is when there is irreversible cessation of all brain activity due to lack of blood and/or oxygenation. The other form is donation after circulatory death (DCD) in which the patient has not deteriorated to brain death but there still may be an opportunity for families to opt for organ donation. Research has shown that healthcare providers working in intensive care units (ICUs) are not always at ease with DBD and even more uncomfortable with …

Nursing Across Cultures: Challenges And Opportunities In Caring For Kenya's Indigenous Communities, Sylvia Waweru-Smith

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Purpose: This study aimed to assess nursing students' CC in cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, skills, encounters, and desire. It also explored nursing students' views on caring for culturally diverse patients and how these views relate to CC.

Design: A convergent mixed methods design addressed the following research questions:

1. What are the levels of CC in nursing students in Kenya?
2. What demographic and cultural characteristics impact students' CC levels?
3. What are nursing students' views on caring for diverse patients?
4. How do these views compare to or explain the students' CC levels?

Methods: A convenience sample of 190 …

Cardiovascular Awareness, Risk Factors Awareness, And Select Risk Reduction Interventions, Kimberly Ann Henderson

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally. African American (AA) females experience a disproportionately higher burden of CVD risk factors compared to other racial and gender-ethnic groups. This disparity in CVD risk is particularly pronounced among premenopausal and middle-aged AA females. While CVD is primarily preventable, addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and achieving equitable health requires a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing CVD risk and health behaviors.

This descriptive correlational study employed a secondary data analysis using the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) dataset to examine the relationships among CVD awareness, modifiable risk factor …

Are You Ready To Escape? Representing Innovation Through Escape Room Pedagogy In Obstetric Education, Nisha Nair

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Facilitating quality clinical experiences for students is a significant challenge in nursing education. Nursing students must develop critical thinking and collaborative skills to ensure safe, effective patient care. To foster these competencies, an innovative escape room pedagogy was introduced as an alternative to traditional simulation experiences. This interactive approach engages students in teamwork, problem-solving, and clinical judgment within a dynamic and enjoyable learning environment. By integrating escape rooms into the curriculum, nursing programs can better prepare students for real-world clinical challenges, improving patient care and addressing health disparities.

This study also aimed to determine the feasibility of integrating escape rooms …

From Challenge To Champion: When The Student Becomes The Coach, Alanna Elizabeth Kavanaugh, George Nicholson

Biennial Convention (CONV)

While the field of nursing has recently focused on diversifying the workforce through increased access to education, students from underrepresented populations often face challenges navigating the academic and clinical demands of institutional programs (Hill & Albert, 2021). Barriers such as a lack of role models and insufficient culturally responsive support systems frequently result in feelings of inadequacy and diminished confidence, hindering student success (Ortega et al., 2020).

Mentorship is critical in promoting the success of underrepresented students (Johnson et al., 2022). However, traditional mentorship models often yield inconsistent results, particularly in addressing sociocultural, generational, and educational divides (Williams, 2023). Innovative …

Investing In Nurse Well-Being, Julie Wild Rose, Emily Calabro

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Background: COVID-19 exacerbated the already high rates of moral distress, trauma, and burnout among healthcare professionals. To address these challenges, the Nursing and Allied Health Resilience and Well-Being Program partnered with an external organization to offer overnight nurse renewal retreats. These retreats aim to empower nurses to rediscover their passion, purpose, and connection to their profession by providing a safe, nurturing environment for processing difficult experiences.

Methods: This mixed-methods pilot study was conducted in two hospitals within a 12-hospital system in Washington state. Participants engaged in journaling, trauma-informed care, mindfulness, yoga, self-compassion, and healing circles to promote self-awareness, cognitive reframing, …

Sustainable Classrooms: Leadership In Supporting Well-Being And Education In A ‘Last Mile’ School, Jenneth B. Doria

Biennial Convention (CONV)

This is a nurse-led intervention project in a ‘Last Mile’ elementary school in a geographically isolated and impoverished area in the foothills of a 6th class municipality in the Philippines. Majority of learners are indigenous children whose need for comfortable and heat-resilient classrooms in resource-deficient community is critical to reduce chronic health and educational disparities.

The Philippines’ nationwide classroom shortage is compounded by poorly built facilities that inadequately shelter learners from extreme heat and its associated health risks, and frequent storms. The high heat indexes ranging from 100-110 degrees F made teachers and learners vulnerable to severe discomfort, dehydration, and …