Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Early Screening Of Postpartum Depression, Mary Ramirez

MSN Capstone Projects

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common pregnancy-related complication affecting over half-million mothers each year in the United States and only 50% of these women seek treatment or even receive a mental health evaluation (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2015; Horowitz & Goodman, 2004). Failure to detect or diagnose PPD can have serious consequences for both mom and baby. Nurses play a key role in discharge teaching and education, which puts them in the perfect position to ensure that adequate referrals are coordinated and to stress the importance of follow-up care to new mothers (Logsdon et al., 2018). Current …

Diabetes Education In The Emergency Department: Decreasing Repeat Visits And Admissions, Keith Hatfield

MSN Capstone Projects

Parkland Memorial Hospital (PMH) has many patients with diabetes under its care (Parkland Health & Hospital System, 2019a). Lewis et al. (2015) found that most patients with diabetes seeking care in a large urban ED lacked the basic diabetes survival knowledge needed to stay healthy. Poor diabetes control leads to complications and illness, which leads to repeat ED visits and inpatient admissions. A further literature review supported providing patients with additional diabetes education to reduce admissions.

This project will train the ED Registered Nurses (RN) to provide additional diabetes education at discharge and provide the patient with educational materials to …

Medication Error Prevention Strategies, Shana L. Brown

MSN Capstone Projects

The fundamental purpose of every healthcare organization is to enhance patient quality of life through the provision of superior healthcare to produce the best patient outcomes. In the pre-hospital practice setting of helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) the desire of system leaders and medical staff is to be primarily patient-centered, focused on the safety and wellbeing of patients while at the same time managing the business finances and budget of the organization. Maintaining a healthy environment with safe patient practices is the responsibility of organization administrators, physicians, nurses, paramedics, and all healthcare providers.

One of the primary duties that healthcare …

The Clinically Aligned Pain Assessment Tool (Capa) Evidenced-Based Change Project- Benchmark Study, Mary Vitullo

MSN Capstone Projects

Pain is one of the main reasons people seek medical treatment in the United States (National Institutes of Health, 2017). Frequently, pain is inappropriately managed leading to negative patient outcomes that lead to prolonged discharge time that increases hospital costs (Trzeciak et al., 2018). This is due to improper assessment of pain which leads to challenges in pain management interventions, ultimately decreasing patient safety and satisfaction. By nature, pain reporting by patients is subjective. Various scales are utilized in the hospital setting, but these assessment scales only reflect pain intensity and are unidimensional, as opposed to pain experience and multidimensional …

Comparison Of Education Styles For Nursing Students: Team-Based Learning Versus Traditional Lecture, Hannah Gean

MSN Capstone Projects

Nursing graduates are coming into the workforce still lacking in important areas. Nurses need to have cultivated leadership, communication, and satisfaction skills before they start their first job. For this to occur, nursing students need to be prepared with these qualities while they are still in school. It is important for students to not only learn healthcare knowledge but to have practical skills in a variety of areas. When students learn through the traditional lecture method, it is not always possible to assess and support their learning in leadership, communication, and satisfaction. To ensure that students are receiving these values …

Burnout And Fatigue: A Potential Downside Of The Critical Care Nursing Profession, Samantha L. Ford

MSN Capstone Projects

Studies show that burnout and fatigue increase healthcare cost and decreases organizational profit due to increased rates of employee turnover, decreased employee satisfaction, a decrease in the quality of care provided to patients, and the development of a toxic work environment. The three principal factors of job-related burnout and fatigue will be addressed within the context of this paper including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment.

Critical care nurses suffer from feeling emotionally depleted to the point they feel as though they can no longer give anymore of themselves to the patients they care for, which is a result of …

Heart Failure 30-Day Readmission Frequency, Rates, And Hf Classification, Yolanda R. Brown, Twonia M. Goyer, Margaret C. Harvey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

30 Day Hospital Readmission Rates, Frequencies, and Heart Failure Classification for Patients with Heart Failure

Background Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and disability worldwide among patients. Both the incidence and the prevalence of heart failure are age dependent and are relatively common in individuals 40 years of age and older. CHF is one of the leading causes of inpatient hospitalization readmission in the United States, with readmission rates remaining above the 20% goal within 30 days. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services imposes a 3% reimbursement penalty for excessive readmissions including those who …

Exercise To Improve Cancer-Related Fatigue, Jennifer Watson

MSN Capstone Projects

For the average patient, medical professionals typically recommend exercise to enhance the health of their patients in multiple ways. Oncology patients, however, often have different issues that the treating physicians are more concerned about, so physical activity gets placed on the back burner. The need for exercise in oncology patients is certainly a decision that should be part of an individualized treatment plan, but it is reasonable to believe that most of these patients will benefit from participating in an exercise program. With the high demanding need to decrease chemotherapy side effects and improve lives of those undergoing it, this …

Huddle And Safety, Jaelynn Hall Bsn, Rn

MSN Capstone Projects

The purposed evidence-based practice (EBP) project focuses on a nursing intervention (team huddles) to increase safety and reduce inpatient fall rates. Negative outcomes to consider from an inpatient fall are harm and injury to the patient along with increased health care cost for the patient as well as hospital facility. Accrued cost associated with an in-patient injury resulting from a fall is not reimbursed according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The additional cost for hospital-acquired falls is estimated to be $6,694 (95% CI: -$1,277 to $14,665) (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2017). This was only related …

Increasing Nurse Knowledge Using A Formal Lung Transplant Education Program, Amy M. Stoddard, Donna Lynch-Smith, Kate Carlson Wrammert, Bobby Bellflower

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quality improvement project was completed to show that a formal lung transplant education course for nurses caring for lung transplant patients increased their knowledge. An eight-hour education course was developed by experts in the field of lung transplantation. A pretest was administered before the education course. A posttest was administered to determine if knowledge was improved. A three-month follow-up test was administered to determine knowledge retention. Based on the data analysis, nurse knowledge improved after formal education. Item analysis determined what areas of educational content need to be the focus of quarterly education. The education course was adopted as …

Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool Benchmark Project, Rachel Lutz

MSN Capstone Projects

Background: Pain in the nonverbal adult patient is often misdiagnosed and undertreated. Patients who are unable to communicate pain does not indicate that pain is not present. With the majority of critical-care patients being hemodynamically unstable leaving pain untreated can have detrimental effects on already unstable hemodynamics thus affecting patient outcomes. Research has indicated that patients who have accurate pain management with appropriate analgesia and minimal sedation can help decrease ventilator days, improve patient’s mobility, and help decrease the rate of delirium and length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) (Bourbonnais et al., 2016).

Aim: This benchmark project …

Collaborating With Rural Practice Partners To Address The Need For Registered Nurses In Primary Care, Robin Brown, Heidi Mennenga, Alham Abuatiq, Linda Burdette, Christiana Plemmons

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose: Primary care in rural areas of the U.S. urgently need competent healthcare providers, especially registered nurses (RNs). Registered nurses are ideal team members to help meet the primary care needs in rural communities, yet RNs are underutilized in primary care settings and rarely practice to the full scope of their license in these settings. The purpose of the project was to conduct a needs assessment with rural primary care practice partners to address the need for RNs in primary care.
Sample: A needs assessment was sent to nurse leaders at 13 rural primary care facilities via an online survey …

Prepare-Ing South Dakota Farm And Ranch Women For Advance Care Planning, Theresa Garren-Grubbs, Marijo Letizia, Mary Minton

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose: Evaluate the impact of an advance care planning (ACP) educational session utilizing PREPARE for Your Care for South Dakota farm and ranch women and its ability to increase engagement in ACP and documentation of medical wishes in the form of an advance directive.
Sample: A convenience sample of women (n = 23) represented members of the farm and ranch community in South Dakota who were participating in the Power of Women as AgVocates Conference. Inclusion criteria for this study included being 18 years old or older, female, and conference participation. Exclusion criteria included men and those under the age …

The Nicu Experience: Supporting Families & Providing Resources, Annie Zitelli

Senior Honors Projects

ANNIE ZITELLI (Nursing)

The NICU Experience: Supporting Families & Providing Resources

Sponsors: Colleen Kenny (Nursing)

This project aims to explore and understand the needs of family members who have an infant in the NICU to identify any gaps in resources and/or support hospitals provide to these families. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides optimal care for infants who are not fully developed or have serious health conditions. When an infant is brought to the NICU, parents and family members experience a flood of emotions. While families are trying to process the reality of having an infant in such a …

Learning Concepts Of Quality And Safety Using A Personal Quality Improvement Project, Emily Nowak

Nursing Faculty Scholarship

Background/IntroductionNurse leaders must be prepared to lead processes to create meaningful change. AACN's attention to quality and safety as an individual essential/domain warrants focused attention within the curriculum. PurposeA review of a graduate level curriculum identified a notable gap in quality and safety. A quality and safety course with embedded personal quality improvement project was developed to teach these concepts. Processes/ProceduresThinking about how learning concepts of Q and S could be implemented in a shorter and more concentrated period of time without losing depth or meaningfulness led to the development of a project-based course. Content was front loaded in the …

Burden Of Care As Perceived By Informal Caregivers Of The Patients Receiving Chemotherapy In Tertiary Care Hospital Of Karachi, Pakistan, Asher Ghori, Rubina Barolia, Naghma Rizvi, Ghulam Qadir

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Almost 32.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer annually. The huge number of cancer patients with deteriorating health renders a far greater number of informal caregivers bearing the burden of care in different forms and magnitude. The main purpose of the study was to explore the types of burden perceived by the informal caregivers and the factors associated with the caregiving burden.
Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study design was adopted to answer the research questions from April to May 2016. Around 200 informal caregivers were recruited from one of the tertiary hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. The modified ZBIS …

Evolving Nurse Leadership Role In 2020, Nasreen Rafiq, Farida Bibi Mughal

School of Nursing & Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Nursing Education Amidst Covid-19: Obstacles And Way Forward, Farida Bibi Mughal, Nasreen Rafiq, Bibi Hajira Irshad Ali

School of Nursing & Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of A Fall Risk Assessment Tool In Primary Practice May Decrease Fall Frequency In The Aging Population, Regina M. White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this evidence-based project was to illustrate the benefits of utilizing a fall risk assessment tool during office visits for the aging population of a Midwestern U.S. primary care practice. Utilization of this tool helped minimize fall frequency, thus improved quality of health. The reduction in falls helped minimize unnecessary healthcare expenses. This manuscript identified a rationale for the project, specific tool utilization, outcome measures before and after implementation, limitations, and future application for practice. Provider compliance with tool utilization and frequency were measured. Multiple potential causes of falls and recommendations to minimize falls were identified with the …

Organizational Strategies To Promote Nurse Resilience In The Acute Care Hospital Inpatient Setting: An Integrative Review, Marcia A. Depolo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nurses practicing in acute care hospital environments are exposed to constant stressors from a variety of sources. Workplace stress can lead to unhealthy coping behaviors, illness, and burnout, with intent to leave the organization or the nursing profession altogether. Resilience-building strategies can be employed to foster coping, improve nurse wellbeing, increase job satisfaction, promote retention, and enhance quality patient outcomes. This integrative review provides a synthesis of scholarly publications on nursing resilience from January 2014 through October 2020. Themes to promote nursing resilience occurred at three levels: personal or individual, unit or group, and organizational. This paper will provide a …

Debriefing: A Place For Enthusiastic Teaching And Learning At A Distance, Cynthia Sherraden Bradley, Brandon Kyle Johnson, Kristina Dreifuerst

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

The current pandemic has required a quick response to the unprecedented suspension of face-to-face instruction in higher education worldwide. The rapid conversion of didactic, laboratory, and clinical courses to distance learning has been challenging, requiring integration of screen-based virtual simulations and other innovative learning activities. The importance of a robust debriefing of these learning opportunities is often neglected, which could be to the detriment of the students. Debriefing is based on strong narrative pedagogy, requiring an engaging and enthusiastic dialog. Despite long days of screen time, it is even more imperative to connect with students to create meaningful learning through …

Advance Care Planning Barriers For Young Adults, Emily K. Songer

Honors Projects

According to the CDC, 40.6% of young adult deaths occur from unintentional injuries, which is the leading cause of death for this age group (Heron, 2019). When accidents occur, they sometimes result in a loss of the ability to make medical decisions, and young adults most likely have never had the opportunity state their wishes regarding their medical care. This is why advance care planning is important, because it allows the opportunity to express those desires before it is too late. Many people often confuse advance care planning as a process that is only needed for the elderly and those …

A Patient-Centered Asthma Management Communication Intervention For Rural Latino Children: Protocol For A Waiting-List Randomized Controlled Trial, Robin Dawson, Sue P. Heiney, De Anne Hilfinger Messias, Dennis Ownby

Faculty Publications

Background: Rural Latino children with asthma suffer high rates of uncontrolled asthma symptoms, emergency department visits, and repeat hospitalizations. This vulnerable population must negotiate micro- and macrolevel challenges that impact asthma management, including language barriers, primary care access, parental time off from work, insurance coverage, distance from specialty sites, and documentation status. There are few proven interventions that address asthma management embedded within this unique context. Objective: Using a bio-ecological approach, we will determine the feasibility of a patient-centered collaborative program between rural Latino children with asthma and their families, school-based nursing programs, and primary care providers, facilitated by the …

Behavioral And Enhanced Perinatal Intervention (B-Epic): A Randomized Trial Targeting Tobacco Use Among Opioid Dependent Pregnant Women, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Michelle R. Lofwall, Teresa M. Waters, Paul Nuzzo, Janine Barnett, Letitia Ducas, Andrea Mccubbin, Niraj R. Chavan, Lisa Blair, Kristin Ashford

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background

Opioid use during pregnancy is a significant public health issue. The standard of care for treating opioid use disorder during pregnancy includes medications for opioid disorder (MOUD). However, tobacco use often goes unaddressed among pregnant women on MOUD. In 2018, our team received a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded R34 to conduct a three year-randomized trial to test the feasibility of a novel tobacco intervention for pregnant women receiving MOUD.

Aims

The aims of this study are: (1) to determine the impact of the B-EPIC intervention on maternal tobacco use and stage of change; (2) to determine …

Adaptation Of The Parent Readiness For Hospital Discharge Scale With Mothers Of Preterm Infants Discharged From The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Naiire Salmani, Marzieh Zare Marvast, Somayeh Kahdouei, Marianne E. Weiss

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Aims and objectives

To evaluate the psychometric properties of a new Persian translation of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale.

Background

Globally, one in 10 newborns are born preterm and many require care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A primary role of NICU nurses is to assure parents are well prepared to take their newborns home from the hospital. Assessment of parent perception of discharge readiness provides important input into discharge decisions. The availability of reliable and valid instruments tested within the geographical and cultural context is needed for a comprehensive assessment of predischarge readiness, so that parent …

Initiating A Geriatric Clinical Practicum In The Midst Of A Pandemic, April Wood

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Training Needs Assessment Of Health Care Professionals In Reproductive, Maternal And Newborn Health In A Low-Income Setting In Tanzania, Columba Mbekenga, Eunice Pallangyo, Tumbwene Mwansisya, Kahabi Isangula, Loveluck Mwasha, James Orwa, Micheal Mugerwa, Michaela Mantel, Leonard Subi, Secilia Mrema, David Siso, Edna Selestine, Marleen Temmerman, Grace Edwards

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Healthcare delivery globally and particularly in low-income setting is challenged by multiple, complex and dynamic problems. The reproductive, maternal and newborn health (RMNH) care is among the most affected areas resulting into high maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity across the Sub Saharan region and Tanzania in particular. However, under-investment in adequate education and training of health care providers (HCPs) is reported worldwide and contributes to the critical shortages, and lack of adequate knowledge and skills among HCPs. The aim of this study was to assess the training needs among HCPs of RMNH care in selected health facilities …

5th & 6th Grade School-Based Asthma Self-Management Program: Toolkit For Facilitators, Sarah Laroe, Jasmine Terrell, Tracy L. Brewer

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

This toolkit will aid school nurses in facilitating an asthma self-management program in their school. School-based asthma self-management programs have been shown to significantly improve school absences and improve health care outcomes in children living with asthma. Although there are many programs out there, this toolkit will utilize the Iggy and the Inhalers© program by Booster Shot Media. The program has several resources available online for free at their website, as well as resources that may be purchased. The program will be enlightening for the students and a fun way to learn about managing their asthma before they attend middle …

Oncology Nurse Compassion Fatigue Benchmark Project, Jessica R. Hayward

MSN Capstone Projects

Oncology nurses provide care to patients during some of the toughest times in their lives. This care places nurses at risk of developing compassion fatigue which can have negative long-term health impacts. There is currently no formal compassion fatigue education offered to oncology nurses. This lack of training leaves nurses vulnerable to the impacts of unmanaged stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. This benchmark project was completed to bring awareness to the need for a mindfulness-based compassion fatigue course. This course will provide oncology nurses with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage these difficult emotions.

In Adult Patients Receiving Wound Care, What Is The Effect Of Wound Care Given Using Clean Technique, Compared To Wound Care Given Using Sterile Technique On Efficient Wound Healing Process Without Complications?, Lily Gamble, Madison Taylor

Fall Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

We chose to research the effect of wound care given using clean technique compared to sterile technique. According to the US Center for Disease Control, nearly 1.7 million patients suffer from hospital-acquired infections and more than 98,000 of these patients die every year (Haque, et al., 2018). Due to this frightening statistic, we wanted to further understand and discover if using a certain technique when caring for wounds plays a major role in preventing complications, such as infections. We chose our topic based on our learning experiences in clinical and the classroom setting. We then found credible sources from medical …