Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Patient-Reported Outcomes Screening For Improved Patient Wellness: A Cancer Center Initiative, Alison Morris

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: People experiencing serious illness have significant unmet physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) requires patients to be screened for emotional wellbeing and pain by their second oncology visit. This project details one cancer center’s quality improvement initiative to (a) implement electronic screening of every cancer patient by their second oncology visit, (b) design processes for ongoing assessment and intervention of need(s), and (c) develop measurable and sustainable evaluation metrics to ensure that palliative care needs are met. Methods: In June 2015, we launched electronic collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using the Patient Reported …

Barriers Encountered By Nurses And Nursing Assistants That Prevent Purposeful Rounding, Mar Joseph B. Odias

Master's Projects and Capstones

Purpose: The aim of the study was to identify barriers encountered by registered nurses (RNs) and nursing assistants (NAs) that prevent purposeful (hourly) rounding.

Background: The literature has shown that purposeful rounding improves patient outcomes and safety. However, few studies show the barriers encountered by nursing staff that hinder the purposeful rounding process.

Methods: A pre-post test design was implemented on a 25-bed oncology, urology medical surgical unit with a staff of 38 RNs, 9 NAs, and 4 Unit Secretaries (US). A pre-implementation needs assessment survey was completed by 55% (21/38) of RNs, 33% (3/9) of NAs, and 100% (4/4) …

Preventing 30-Day Readmissions Of Clostridium Difficile Patients Utilizing Targeted Discharge Instructions, Keith A. Howard

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 ushered in a new era of fiscal accountability for healthcare organizations. Healthcare organizations and providers are now jointly held responsible for the improved quality of patient care and sustained reductions in patient care events termed healthcare-acquired conditions. To ensure compliance with this newly enacted legislation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began penalizing hospitals for targeted conditions leading to 30-day readmissions beginning in October 2012. Annually, CMS has focused attention on conditions that endanger patient health and welfare while secondarily attempting to reduce the excessive financial expenditures in …

Implementation Of An Evidence-Based Educational Workshop And Toolkit: Menopausal Women's Healthcare Needs For The Primary Care Provider, Pamela Doerr-Kashani Dnp, Rn

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

This evidence-based change of practice project involved the development of an educational workshop for primary care providers (PCPs). The intent of the project was to improve PCP’s knowledge of menopausal health, and to create their comfort level when discussing menopausal healthcare with clients. The workshop Menopausal Women’s Healthcare Needs for the Primary Care Provider (Doerr-Kashani, 2014) was created in response to an identified gap in knowledge among PCPs nationally on menopause-related health issues. The workshop was designed as a resource to support PCPs to competently address women’s menopause-related health issues, and enable them to provide comprehensive, evidence-based care within the …

Improving Hand Hygiene Compliance To Reduce Clabsi Rate In Oncology Icu, Lorenzo D. San Pedro

Master's Projects and Capstones

The aim of this project is to reduce the rate of central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) occurrence in oncology ICU by 50% by the last quarter of 2015. This study was conducted in ICU to assess adherence to the facility’s hand hygiene (HH) protocol among the staff nurses and allied healthcare workers. The facility is best known as a non-profit cancer treatment center and designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Evidence showed that hand hygiene is the most effective way of preventing CLABSI, one of the most common types of infection in ICU microsystem. The project utilized The …

A Feasibility Pilot Study On The Use Of Complementary Therapies Delivered Via Mobile Technologies On Icelandic Surgical Patients' Reports Of Anxiety, Pain, And Self-Efficacy In Healing, Margaret M. Hansen Edd, Msn, Rn

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Background Complementary therapies (CT), such as relaxation technique, massage, guided imagery, and accupuncture have shown to benefit patients undergoing surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of using audio relaxation technique (ART), music intervention (MI), nature video application with music (NVAM), and nature video application without music (NVA) delivered via mobile technologies in a clinical setting. Secondary, the effects of ART, MI, NVAM and NVA on patients’ state anxiety, pain perception, and perceived self-efficacy in healing were determined. Methods A randomized clinical trial (RCT) involving 105 same day surgery (SDS) patients, who were assigned to an …

Human Cytomegalovirus Interleukin-10 Promotes Proliferation And Migration Of Mcf-7 Breast Cancer Cells, Robin K. Bishop, Cendy A. Valle Oseguera, Juliet Spencer

Biology Faculty Publications

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide. While a small fraction of breast cancers have a hereditary component, environmental and behavioral factors also impact the development of cancer. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a member of the Herpesviridae family that is widespread in the general population and has been linked to several forms of cancer. While HCMV DNA has been found in some breast cancer tissue specimens, we wanted to investigate whether a secreted viral cytokine might have an effect on cancerous or even pre-cancerous cells. HCMV encodes an ortholog of the human cellular cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). The …