Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Use Of Evidence-Based Telehealth To Reduce Complications In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes In A Rural Health Facility, Joni Kelley

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Formal education for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients is essential, especially in rural areas where diabetes is approximately 17% higher than in urban areas (Bolin & Ferdinand, 2018). In 2019, diabetes was listed as the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths, and 48% of all deaths due to diabetes occurred before 70 years (American Diabetes Association, 2021). According to the American Diabetes Association (2021), approximately 550,149 people in Alabama, or 14.1% of adults, have been diagnosed with diabetes. An additional 119,000 people in Alabama have diabetes but are unaware, significantly increasing their risk of complications (American Diabetes Association, …

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Syphilis Screening Tool To Increase Patient Testing For Syphilis Among Adults 18 Years And Older In A Rural Primary Care Clinic, Valeria S. Wiggins

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are an increasing epidemic in the United States (U.S.) that need immediate interventions to reverse the effects of syphilis on the sexual health of adults in rural populations. Many are unaware of the growing rate of syphilis and the overall impact it causes nationally. When syphilis is detected early, it can be easily treated and cured. Rural primary care providers are ideal candidates for implementing education, screening, testing, and treatment.

Purpose: The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aims to increase the frequency of screening patients in rural primary care clinics for high-risk sexual behaviors. …

Enhancing The Accuracy And Effectiveness Of The National Institute Of Health Stroke Scale In A Rural Emergency Departmennt, Emily Nicole Addington

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

A rural facility in the foothills of North Carolina found a need for process improvement regarding the emergency department and completion of the NIHSS. The DNP student and the Stroke Coordinator along with the Quality Improvement Coordinator agreed with the need for education of staff concerning accurate assessment and documentation of the NIHSS. The DNP project implemented additional training for the emergency department nurses and paramedics in the form of face-to-face classes with a PowerPoint. A pre-and post-survey was conducted to gauge the comfort level of staff with the NIHSS and stroke processes of the rural emergency department. The Stroke …

Sepsis Initiative: Champion Series, Ashlie Barnes

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction syndrome caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Septic shock is defined as a subset of sepsis in which particularly profound circulatory, cellular, and metabolic abnormalities are associated with a higher risk of mortality than with sepsis alone. Each year, more than 1.7 million people are diagnosed with sepsis in the United States, and at least 270,000 Americans die. There is no confirmatory diagnostic test to diagnose sepsis. Therefore, clinical judgment based on evidence of infection and organ dysfunction is key.

Despite thousands of articles and hundreds of trials, sepsis plays …

Improving Health Literacy For Diabetics In A Rural Community, Elissa Purvis

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Adults with type II diabetes mellitus need to understand the disease and manage their chronic condition to live a healthy and comfortable life. This project aimed to educate adults with type II diabetes mellitus in self-management of their chronic illness to increase their health literacy to improve their heart health, kidney health, nutrition, and exercise. The project utilized a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) approach to education for adults with type II diabetes mellitus on the disease process.

METHODS: This project is a quality improvement project focused on educating adults with type II diabetes mellitus in managing their chronic conditions …

Satisfaction Of Telehealth For The 55+ Population, Cynthia Schweizer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

There is a primary care need for the 55+-year-old population related to the increasing aging population, physician shortages, and, more recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) to implement Telehealth care. The Telehealth project will include the 55+ population to provide more participants for the project at an internal medicine clinic. Telehealth's contribution and interventions will affect causal factors such as moderating or mediating factors of health problems. Some of those factors include insufficient primary care coverage due to decreasing numbers of primary care providers (PCP), the increasing older population, complex health issues that come with aging, the need for frequent follow-up …

Implementing A Health Promotion Physical Activity Program For Middle School Youth In A Rural, Faith-Based Organization, Karmin Maher-Hasse

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem: Childhood obesity is more prevalent in rural areas, and these areas have fewer resources to address it. Geographic distance to available resources, health care provider shortages, parental obesity, and poverty contribute to higher prevalence of obesity in rural children compared to urban children.

Rationale: Obesity prevention and treatment often requires long-term healthy lifestyle behavior changes including nutrition counseling and physical activity (PA). It is likely an obese pre-adolescent will have obesity as an adult, and the likelihood increases if obesity continues into adolescence. Pre-adolescence provides a window of opportunity to influence healthier PA habits to prevent overweight (OW) and …

Multidisciplinary Team Approach To Prevent Hf Readmissions In Rural Areas, Naydu Lucas, Rn, Msn, Mba

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Despite the national efforts to decrease 30-days hospital readmissions, readmission remains a challenge for healthcare organizations across the continuum of care. The aim of this quality improve project was to develop and implement a multidisciplinary team approach to provide education to patients hospitalized with congestive heart failure (CHF) to improve 30-day hospital readmissions.

Method: This project was conducted in a critical access hospital in Northeast Washington. Using a pre-post design, we evaluated the 30-day readmission before and after implementing the multidisciplinary education program for patients hospitalized with CHF. The education focused on disease management, discharge education, pharmacy consult and …

Evidence-Based Guidelines And Protocol Implementation In A Primary Care Clinic To Improve Chronic Asthma Care, Jo E. Cote

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The aim of this project was to pilot the implementation of evidence-based guidelines and protocols for chronic asthma care in a rural primary care clinic system. Asthma is under-diagnosed and under-treated, resulting in significant burden of disease. Achieving asthma control requires collaborative care between the patient and healthcare clinicians. Education on evidence-based guidelines was provided to healthcare clinicians. Effectiveness of education and integration of altered workflow was measured. Integration of evidence-based guidelines and protocols was demonstrated by clinicians. The results support expanding the project to the remaining five clinics in the clinic system.