Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Prevention Of Icu Delirium Through Implementation Of A Sleep Promotion Bundle, Victoria Bennett

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) delirium is the prevalence of delirium in ICU patientswho do not have a history of drug/alcohol abuse, an admission for a mental status change, or anadmission to the ICU for less than 24 hours. Serious adverse outcomes have been linked to thepresence of ICU delirium resulting in overall longer hospital lengths of stay, longer duration ofmechanical ventilation, higher rates of mortality, and long-term neuropsychological deficits afterdischarge. At the site of this quality improvement project, the prevalence of ICU delirium was92.3% in a population determined to be high risk using the PRE-DELIRIC screening tool. Aim: The …

Improving Emergency Response In The Outpatient Clinic Setting, Matte Horton

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Effective triage, assessment, and activation of necessary systems in emergent situations of clinical instability is vital in reducing morbidity and mortality of patients in any clinical setting. When medical emergencies occur outside of the hospital, organized and expedited transfer to a higher level of care reduces the potential for adverse events, lasting deficits, and patient death. Aim: The aim of this project was to identify weaknesses in the emergency response system in the community-based outpatient clinic setting and to propose solutions. Methods: The “Swiss Cheese” theoretical framework was used to do a root cause analysis of two clinical scenarios. …

An Updated Rounds Checklist To Increase Appropriate Use Of Telemetry Monitoring, Hattie Miller

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Telemetry monitoring is an essential tool to monitor cardiac electrical activity. Its overuse is costly in time and resources and leads to subsequent testing and treatments that are not necessary for the patient and, in addition, healthcare staff is burdened with work that is potentially not clinically useful.

Aim: The global aim of increasing efficiency in telemetry use starts with the local improvement to facilitate nurse-physician communication of telemetry patients during

Methods: This study with pre and post data collection looked at the results of quantitative data, collected in May-July 2015, on the number of patients with telemetry and …

Engaging Patients To Improve Documentation Of Oral Intake On A Cardiac Telemetry Unit: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Timiny A. Mosher

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background Information
It is important for patients with heart failure to have awareness of their intake & output to effectively manage their disease. There is evidence that tracking intake & output is a component of missed nursing care resulting in discrepancies between the actual patient intake and what is documented in the patient’s electronic health record (EHR).

Aim

The aim of this quality improvement project was to engage patients in monitoring their intake by using teach-back and patient engagement techniques to track their own oral fluid intake throughout the day.

Methods
The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model was used as the framework …

Implementing A Checklist & Hourly Huddles To Increase Situational Awareness During The Second Stage Of Labor-A Perinatal Quality Improvement Project, Kelly Knowles

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Current management of the second stage of labor often follows tradition-based routines rather than evidence-based practices. A lack of situational awareness and tunnel vision can limit medical decision-making. Northern New England Perinatal Quality Improvement Network (NNEPQIN) has listed Second Stage Situational Awareness as a priority initiative. Standardized checklists are useful for maintaining situational awareness. Regular debriefings using a standardized tool have been shown to improve communication and team based care, which generally leads to improved patient outcomes. Based on this evidence, developing a standardized checklist including regular hourly care team “huddles” is valuable and could result in improved birth …

Navigating Independent Double Checks For Safer Care: A Nursing Perspective, Danielle D. Grant

Honors Theses and Capstones

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore registered nurses’ understanding and practice of “independent double-checks” prior to administration of high-alert medications. The study used a qualitative descriptive design for data collection and data analysis. It included thirteen participants from a hospital located in southern New Hampshire. Results of the study revealed a core theme of navigating independent double checks (IDC) for safer care. Two major themes stemming from the core theme were also uncovered. Navigating IDC through knowing and navigating IDC through nurse partnership both focused on the perception and practice on IDC prior to administration of high …

Instilling Diet And Exercise Confidence: Influence Of Nurse Body Size, Erin Murdock Spaulding

Student Research Projects

This paper reports a research study focused on perspective of nurse body size and how it affects confidence in a nurses’ ability to provide education on diet and exercise. The study followed a descriptive method design guided by a cross-sectional survey with quantitative variables. Results show that there is increased confidence in a nurse’s ability to provide education and influence habits regarding diet and exercise when the nurse role models such behaviors. Other findings presented include respondents’ perception of their body mass index versus their actual body mass index, percentage of respondents with health care conditions related to obesity, and …

Instilling Diet And Exercise Confidence: Influence Of Nurse Body Size, Erin Murdock Spaulding

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper reports a research study focused on perspective of nurse body size and how it affects confidence in a nurses’ ability to provide education on diet and exercise. The study followed a descriptive method design guided by a cross-sectional survey with quantitative variables. Results show that there is increased confidence in a nurse’s ability to provide education and influence habits regarding diet and exercise when the nurse role models such behaviors. Other findings presented include respondents’ perception of their body mass index versus their actual body mass index, percentage of respondents with health care conditions related to obesity, and …

Nursing Textbooks: Comparative Representation Of Physicians And Advanced Practice Nurses, Kaitlin Kirby

Honors Theses and Capstones

Advanced practice registered nurses are nurses educated with a master’s degree who practice autonomously as well collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to diagnose, treat, and manage patients’ healthcare problems. Undergraduate nursing students often misunderstand the role and responsibilities of advanced practice nurses. As nursing students are cultured in the art and science of nursing, textbooks play an essential role. Therefore in this study, seven best-selling nursing textbooks were examined for content related to APRNs and physicians. Selections from all seven textbooks were collected and analyzed to determine the references to physicians, APRNs, and healthcare providers. APRN selections were less prevalent …

Nursing Satisfaction In Caring For Elders, Sarah L. Vlachos

Honors Theses and Capstones

Despite the increasing number of Americans who are over 65 years of age, little research exists about the satisfaction of nurses who care for this population. This qualitative descriptive study investigated the factors that influence the satisfaction of such nurses, and yielded five main themes. Registered Nurses (RNs) reported providing high-quality care, developing relationships, and making a difference to be rewarding components of geriatric nursing. The nurses also discussed challenges, which included caring for elders with dementia and being unable to deliver the high-quality care they felt patients deserve. Several of these finding were consistent with existing studies that addressed …

Two Cultures Of Caring: A Comparative Study, Lisa Armstrong, Chistina Polito

Honors Theses and Capstones

There is much that the UK and the US could and should learn from each other to understand the quality of end-of-life care, through comparison of practice, analysis of care patterns and via original research (Higginson, 2005, p.170). Although comparisons between end-of-life care in the United Kingdom and United States have demonstrated similarities and disparities in many contexts, there is little evidence of research that directly compares nursing perspectives between the two Atlantic partners. This research explores nurse’s perceptions and experiences of caring for people within a hospice context and identifies themes of commonalities and disparities in theory and practice, …

Understanding The Experience Of Weight Gain And Body Image During Adolescent Pregnancy, Jessica L. Hinkley, Liana J. Newcombe

Honors Theses and Capstones

This qualitative descriptive study explores the experience of adolescent pregnancy and the influence of body image and other factors on weight gain. It identified three main themes through content analysis: Continuity of Care, Adolescent Investment in a Healthy Pregnancy, and the Impact of Pregnancy Symptoms.

Understanding Caregiver Factors Influencing Childhood Influenza Vaccination, Gianelle M. Avola, Jennifer A. Lyon

Honors Theses and Capstones

Influenza is a contagious disease that affects approximately 30% to 40% of American children yearly, and all children 18 and under are recommended to be vaccinated. Through the use of a survey tool, 119 responses were collected about the factors that influence the decisions of caregivers whether or not to vaccinate their children against influenza. The knowledge generated from the survey may be used to formulate education programs to increase vaccination rates.

Infusing Oral Health Care Into Nursing Curriculum: Addressing Preventive Health In Aging And Disability, Joan Earle Hahn, Leah Fitzgerald, Young Kee Markham, Paul Glassman, Nancy Guenther

Nursing

Access to oral health care is essential for promoting and maintaining overall health and well-being, yet oral health disparities exist among vulnerable and underserved populations. While nurses make up the largest portion of the health care work force, educational preparation to address oral health needs of elders and persons with disabilities is limited across nursing curricula. This descriptive study reports on the interdisciplinary development, implementation, and testing of an oral health module that was included and infused into a graduate nursing curriculum in a three-phase plan. Phase 1 includes evaluation of a lecture presented to eight gerontological nurse practitioner (GNP) …

Poor Women With Sexually Transmitted Infections: Providers’ Perspectives On Diagnoses, Genevieve R. Cox

Sociology

This article presents results from a study of health care providers, mainly nurses and nurse practitioners, who routinely diagnose sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in rural low-income populations in West Virginia (WV). A qualitative analysis of eighteen semi-structured interviews reveals that providers who consistently work with low-income populations believe patients undergo a negative change in self-image in response to a chronic STD diagnosis. Providers express concerns about a number of issues related to low-income, rural women’s access to sexual health care and see the need for more sexuality education, more funding for free and reduced cost clinics, and more available health …

Colorful Perspectives: Caring For Sick Children In Pune, India, Rachael Butterfield

Inquiry Journal 2011

No abstract provided.

Sleeping In Safety: A Study Of Nurse Anesthetists In Ghana, Lauren Kasparian

Inquiry Journal 2011

No abstract provided.

Living Positively: An Inside Look At Hiv Counseling And Testing In Uganda, Lindsay Bergmann

Inquiry Journal 2010

No abstract provided.

Gene Harkless, Associate Professor Of Nursing, Jennifer Lee

Inquiry Journal 2010

No abstract provided.

Stepping Beyond The Smith Plaintiffs‘ Reliance On Corso: An Alternative Approach To Recovering Emotional-Distress Damages In Wrongful-Birth Cases In New Hampshire, Parker B. Potter Jr.

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “More than twenty years ago, in Smith v. Cote, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held “that New Hampshire recognizes a cause of action for wrongful birth.” After so holding, the court then discussed the damages available to a prevailing wrongful-birth plaintiff. Among other things, the court held that when parental emotional distress associated with raising a disabled child, born after the mother had received negligent pre-natal assurance of the baby‘s normal health, “results in tangible pecuniary losses, such as medical expenses or counseling fees, such losses are recoverable.” The court further held that a wrongful-birth plaintiff may not recover …

Nursing In Uganda: My Summer Of Unexpected Discoveries, Emily Roberts

Inquiry Journal 2008

No abstract provided.

Caring For America’S Aging Population: A Profile Of The Direct-Care Workforce, Kristin E. Smith, Reagan A. Baughman

Sociology

Direct-care workers constitute a low-wage, high-turnover workforce with low levels of health insurance; taking these characteristics into account guides the challenge of how to deal with the growing demand for long-term care by an aging U.S. population.

Perinatal Loss: Its Challenge To Nurses And Educators, Catherine Overson

Inquiry Journal 2006

No abstract provided.

“My Mind Is Like A Dark Storm Cloud”: Observations And Experiences In Norwegian Dementia Care, Cristina Joseph

Inquiry Journal 2006

No abstract provided.

Coping With The Risk Of Cancer In Children Living Near Power Lines, Eileen N. Abt

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Ms. Abt briefly summarizes evidence linking power lines with a possible increase in risk of childhood cancer. She also recounts how, although many experts remain skeptical of causality, public fears, whether or not warranted, have themselves created serious problems. Finally, she proposes ways to address those problems.

Book Review, Mitchell M. Simon

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: MARSHALL A. KAPP, ETHICAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH CARE FOR THE ELDERLY: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. (Greenwood Press 1992). [200 pp.] Number 17 in series, Bibliographies and Indices in Gerontology. Author index; foreword by Erdman B. Palmore, series editor; preface; subject index. LC: 92-17776; ISBN: 0-313-27490-8. [Cloth $45.00. P.O. Box 5007, Westport CT 06881.]