Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Benefits Of Patient-Centered Education For Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Paige Bortnick

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic, lifelong illness that affects millions of individuals in the United States. The rate of diabetes has doubled over the last 20 years in America and has climbed to be the seventh leading cause of death amongst Americans. The purpose of this project was to determine if participants in the target community demonstrated increased knowledge and awareness of diabetes after receiving education. A pre-intervention and post-intervention survey was given to determine if the education was effective. Data collected revealed an increased awareness and knowledge regarding the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, lifestyle, and diet modification.

Increasing Organ Donation In A University Setting, Zachary Hatton

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The literature shows a strong correlation between education on organ donation and increased organ donation registration. Society has depicted a description of organ donation that is hostile and untrue. Increasing organ donation registration with knowledge sets the foundation of a grassroots movement to increase understanding and change society’s viewpoint(s) on organ donation. An education session on organ donation was developed and presented to the targeted population of 18–24-year-old students at a university in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The focal point of the presentation was to dispel myths, educate on facts, and create a better understanding of organ donation …

Improving Parental Communication With Adolescents About Sex, Amanda Blanton

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

In 2018, 68 million people in the United States were infected with a sexually transmitted infection. Of those 68 million, 26 million cases were newly diagnosed, and of that 26 million, half were youth aged 15-24 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022a). The approaches to educating our youth about sexual health are inconsistent, leading to misconceptions about the dangers associated with risky sexual behavior. However, parents have the upper hand in discussing sexual health information with their children by being the child’s first contact and source of information. Teens who report talking with their parents about sex are …

Improving Sexually Transmitted Infections (Sti) Education And Access To Education For Healthcare Workers In A Rural Ambulatory Clinic, Savannah Elmore

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are prevalent across the United States, with one in five people diagnosed in 2018, resulting in nearly $16 billion in medical costs. The prevention and treatment of STIs have been identified as a priority area for improvement, with healthcare providers playing a critical role in education, diagnosing, and treating STIs. The aim of this capstone project was to improve STI education and access to education for healthcare workers in a rural ambulatory clinic. Through a needs assessment and the development of objectives and a timeline, the project identified and addressed gaps in STI education and resources, …

Getting The Most From M.O.S.T.: Promoting Most Education For Palliative Care Providers, Shelby Mood

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms are relatively new in medicine. These forms help patients and providers navigate some of the difficult decisions that can occur near the end of life and in palliative care. Each state has its own version of POLST forms. In the state this DNP project was implemented, this form is called Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment, or MOST form. Given the complexities of medical decisions, patients may not always understand the options covered in the MOST form or the implied tasks with each choice. To further patient understanding of the MOST form, this …

Why Doesn't She Just Leave? Improving Identification And Response To Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence In The Emergency Room, Elizabeth Berry

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The purpose of this project was to improve identification and response to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) presenting to the emergency department. Project participants completed a pre-education questionnaire prior to the project leader providing intimate partner violence educational materials and a presentation entitled Recognizing and Responding to Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in the Emergency Room. The project participants then completed a mirrored post-education questionnaire. Evaluation of the project included a comparison of the participant's responses to the mirrored questionnaires. Project participants reported an increase in the:

• recognition of the prevalence of intimate partner violence among their patients, …

Fluid State And Diet Control In Patients With Acute Kidney Injury On Hemodialysis, Carolyn Evans-Howard

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Prolonged hospitalization, high number of readmissions, and high mortality rates are associated with patients diagnosed with Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). The purpose of this quality improvement proposal is to address the need for more education for nurses caring for these patients. If the kidneys shut down temporarily due to acute illness or medication taken, fluid and toxins will build up in the body with no way of being released. It is proposed that if dietary and fluid restrictions are followed it may help the patient recover faster. The method proposed is to have nurses learn the necessary dietary and fluid …

Implementing Rapid Response And Medical Emergency Simulation Training For Medical-Surgical Nurses, Brandon Burnett

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

This project is based on the problem of nursing competence and confidence within medical emergency and rapid response scenarios. This problem affects all patients, but specifically the medical-surgical patient population of which rapid assessment and intervention can lead to a change in patient mortality. The goal of the project is to use simulation, a common tool in undergraduate nursing education, to improve nursing competence and confidence after participation. The nurses will be cycled through three simulated scenarios, followed by a debriefing, and then moved to the next simulation. The nurses’ performance will be evaluated using evaluator checklists for each of …

Improving Parent/Guardian Awareness Of Kindergarten Entry Health Requirements, Paul Prince

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Ensuring students meet health requirements to enter Kindergarten is a time-consuming process. By improving education to parents to help them discern differences between PreK and Kindergarten requirements, the health of students can be optimized and the time burden for administrators and school nurses can be reduced. There is evidence that parents/guardians better respond to non-written material delivered through push notification or email. A 5-minute video presentation was distributed to 24 parents/guardians of PreK students. Project impact was measured through a pre/post survey evaluating levels of confidence in child readiness for Kindergarten. Results identified that parent/guardian confidence was increased after education. …

Improving Utilization Of Palliative Care For Heart Failure Patients, Devin Tilley

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The purpose of this program was to educate providers regarding palliative care for heart failure patients. Palliative care is underutilized in conjunction with usual heart failure management despite proven benefits of decreased symptom burden, reduced hospitalizations, and improved overall quality of life. Provider education has the ability to improve provider knowledge of palliative care for heart failure patients. A brief education session was given to hospital providers in an acute care setting to evaluate the benefits of provider education on palliative care utilization for heart failure patients. Findings included improved provider confidence in referring heart failure patients to palliative care. …

Prescription Labels: Get To Know Them, Karen Adams

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Low health literacy is a problem for millions of Americans resulting in increased use of healthcare resources resulting in poor health outcomes. The older adult population is continuing to grow and is the largest user of healthcare. Use of pharmaceutical regimens to manage chronic illnesses is the most commonly used treatment modality. Unfortunately, people with low health literacy may have trouble understanding and following their providers instructions. It can be difficult to read directions on over the counter and prescription medication bottles. Community-based health educational programs benefit the maintenance of older adult health. The purpose of this project was to …

Improving Workplace Incivility By Educating Frontline Nurse Leaders: The Charge Nurse, Temika Ford

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The term workplace incivility is often replaced interchangeably with workplace bullying, horizontal/lateral violence, psychosocial harassment, intimidating behavior, and/or aggression (micro/macro). Workplace incivility in nursing has lasting effects on the profession through worsening the nursing shortage, contributing to low morale, negative working environments, safety issues for staff and patients, stress-related health problems, absenteeism, and decreased quality of patient care. Incivility can be from a variety of sources including: Nurse managers, clinical team leads, unit coordinators, physicians, patients, and other healthcare professionals. Buy-in by nursing executive leadership and evidence-based education for nurses is mandatory to address organizational incivility.

The purpose of this …

Self-Care In Bsn Students: Developing A Self-Care Plan, Jamie Davis Brandon

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Stress is an issue of concern in nursing practice and nursing education. Stress leads to burn out and compassion fatigue in the nurse and student nurse. To combat stress, professional organizations advocate for self-care practices. Research indicates self-care practice can reduce stress levels and increase health and wellness. An evidenced-based DNP project was conducted over a seven-week time frame during a mental health nursing course to educate senior BSN students on different dimensions of self-care to reduce stress levels and increase use of self-care practices.

Clarifying The Need For Inpatient Medication Education, Pamela Cox Raffaldt

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Low health literacy is a problem for millions of Americans resulting in increased use of avoidable healthcare resources and poor health outcomes. Use of pharmaceutical regimens to manage acute and chronic health issues is the most common treatment modality. Unfortunately, people with low health literacy may have trouble understanding and following provider instructions; reading and following directions on medication bottles, either prescribed and/or over the counter; and identifying proper reasons for taking a medication. The purpose of this study was to increase patient self-agency for the treatment and management of acute and chronic health conditions through medication education. Providing medication …

Simulation Collaboration: Will Screen Capture Change Attitudes?, Jeffrey Carmack

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

The ongoing call for interprofessional education with healthcare providers who routinely work together has largely gone unanswered. Parallel to this call, a large number of nursing programs across the United States exist in a stand-alone setting. These programs are unattached to a school of medicine. This creates barriers including a lack of access to physicians and lack of funding to hire medical staff as embedded participants. At the same time, aging nursing faculty, increasing enrollment, and decreasing clinical facility availability create an increased need to use simulation-learning environments to continue to maintain existing capacity in nursing programs. This project used …

Breastfeeding Education: Improving Initiation And Duration Of Breastfeeding, Rhonda Coffey

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research study was to examine the level of self-efficacy for new mothers attending a formal breastfeeding education compared to those that did not. Participants were asked to complete the Breast Feeding Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form via telephone. Twenty primigravida mothers who were breastfeeding at the time of discharge agreed to participate. A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated examining the relationship between the participant's level of self-efficacy and participation in formal breastfeeding. The Pearson correlation coefficient was positive but was not statistically significant ( r (18)= .250, p > .05) indicating no relationship between the participant's self-efficacy …

Patient Education In The Emergency Department, Bryan K. Devinney

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Patient education is a core component to the practice of nursing in many countries, including the United States. Emergency department nurses are often overwhelmed with the number of patients they must care for in short amounts of time. The patients are often in varying stages of evaluation and treatment, and the nurse may be involved in one-on-one interventions with these patients. This can leave little time for patient education, especially if the nurse does not feel like the patient education is meaningful or useful. Various factors can influence the ability and desire of the emergency department nurse to provide proper …