Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Encouraging Medication Compliance By Implementing A Medication Adherence Tool, Regina Taylor

Doctoral Projects

Medication non-adherence has been a common and challenging problem in health care, especially among mental health patients. Studies show medication compliance among psychiatric patients has been at a lower rate than patients with physical conditions. Non-compliance with medications has been one of the considerable contributions to rapid psychiatric hospital readmission. Rapid readmissions have been costing health care billions of dollars annually. The stigma behind mental health has a large contribution to why mental health patients are non-compliant with their psychotropics. Utilization of the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) on a patient to evaluate the patient's willingness and ability to take …

Implementing A Systematic Depression Screening In The Primary Care Setting, Cassandra Moore

Doctoral Projects

The Advanced Practice Nurse is responsible for providing quality care and treatment for the whole person. 3 John 1:2 KJV states, “I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers” (King James Bible, 2023, para. 2). To prosper and be in health refers to a holistic approach in which the mind, body, and spirit of an individual is considered. Mental health care is an integral part of the holistic health approach.

Mental illness affects approximately one in five adults (52.9 million) in the United States alone (National Institute of Mental Health …

Effectiveness Of Staff Training On Trauma-Informed Care, Brandy Tramel Williams

Doctoral Projects

The connection between experiencing trauma and the development of substance use disorder is widely recognized. Although trauma is more prevalent among individuals with substance use disorders, healthcare professionals have limited access to training focused on trauma informed care. It is crucial for those working in addiction treatment to receive training and education on trauma informed care to understand the impact of trauma and its association with substance use disorders.

This DNP project's objective was to develop and evaluate an educational presentation for staff emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed care in the context of addiction. The effectiveness of this intervention was …

Implementing A Medication Preference Questionnaire In Schizophrenia To Decrease The Risk Of Relapse, Chelsea Aldridge

Doctoral Projects

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder that affects the mind causing individuals to have delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought processing, and or negative symptoms ranging from isolation to anhedonia. Schizophrenia has capabilities of becoming a disabling disorder if symptoms are not properly managed with appropriate psychotropic medications. Psychiatrists, Primary Care Providers (PCPs), and Psychiatric- Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) typically treat the symptoms of schizophrenia with antipsychotics. Antipsychotics fall into two drug classes: first- generation or typical antipsychotics and second- generation or atypical antipsychotics that can be given orally or intramuscularly. Typical antipsychotics generally have more side effects than atypical antipsychotics. However, …

Does The Use Of Mental Health Screenings And Targeted Stress Interventions Improve Mental Health Outcomes In Outpatient Clinic Staff?, Mary Benson

Doctoral Projects

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) has been used as a classic stress assessment instrument to evaluate perceived stress across many settings. As stress is the primary phenomenon in this review due to varying stressors, including infectious diseases among healthcare workers, the PSS is the most appropriate scale for evaluating the degree to which a health worker feels stressed. In addition, the PSS is valuable as it encompasses ten items that researchers use to explore how respondents react to stress due to unpredictable events. Thus, this DNP project is based on the postulation that screening with the PSS and applying stress …

Measuring The Development Of Depression In A Long-Term Care Facility, Cantrell Anderson

Doctoral Projects

Depression is a severe global health problem (Almond, 2009; Brewis et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2019). According to the World Health Organization [WHO] (2020), depression is a problem that more than 264 million people suffer from. In comparison to older adults in the community, depression rates are significantly higher among older adults in long-term care. The treatment of older adults in long-term care is challenging. There are several risk factors that contribute to depression in this population, however, they are still not clear.

The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to measure the development of …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Trauma Informed Care Training For Mental Health Nurses, Felicia Gathings

Doctoral Projects

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that happened to a person at a young age, and when untreated they have a higher risk of developing a mental illness. ACEs are associated with social problems, illnesses, and physiological issues. ACEs are related to increased health risks and an increase in high-risk behaviors. Despite increase evidence relating ACEs to physical and mental issues, nurses lack training in ACEs and trauma-informed care (TIC). The overall goal of this project was to increase knowledge of ACEs and TIC in mental health nurses when caring for mentally ill patients. Pre-test and Post-test surveys were …

Developing A Sustainable Group Tobacco Control Program In A Community Mental Health Clinic, Jennifer Burns

Doctoral Projects

While substantial practical, empirical, and theoretical contributions have been made toward the implementation of healthcare innovations, significantly less attention has been directed towards the sustainability of these interventions. For this reason, many healthcare innovations become unsustainable over time—yielding few long-term improvements, causing stakeholder disenchantment, and wasting valuable resources. The use of tobacco products is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States that is disproportionately prevalent among individuals with severe mental illness, making the development and sustainment of evidencebased tobacco control programs imperative to alleviating this public health burden. As a final project in Grand Valley’s …

Ontrack: A Program Evaluation, Justin Mynatt

Doctoral Projects

OnTrack is a program that provides coordinated specialty care (CSC) services for patients who have experienced their first episode of psychosis (FEP). Appropriately identifying and aggressively treating this vulnerable population, while providing support to both them and their families is critical for improved outcomes. Appropriate treatment of FEP patients can improve their quality of life, preserve brain matter, improve overall functioning, and lessen the burden of the clients’ family who may be involved in their care, such as caregiver strain or financial hardship. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the success of OnTrack, a FEP program, at improving …

Implementation Of A Psychiatric Admission Acuity Tool In The Pediatric Behavioral Health Unit, Tyler T. Wansley

Doctoral Projects

Staffing, patient ratios, and acuity are not new concepts in health care. While these are popular concepts in medical units, inpatient psychiatric facilities are lacking the tools to correctly quantify patient acuity. An even considerably larger gap exists in the literature regarding the quantification of acuity in pediatric behavioral health units.

A needs assessment was conducted to determine if an existing psychiatric acuity tool would prove useful after implementation in a pediatric behavioral health unit. A need for such a tool was found which led to the purpose of this doctoral project, which was to measure nurse satisfaction with the …

Implementation Of An Evidence Based Screening Protocol To Improve The Diagnosis Of Dementia In A Home-Based Primary Care Setting, Lauren Liesbeth Sutton

Doctoral Projects

Dementia is a major public health concern that is both debilitating and deleterious to those afflicted with its various forms. The number of those living with dementia is increasing exponentially as the population continues to rise, with 46.8 million people worldwide currently afflicted with dementia (Chow et al., 2018). Dementia causes cognitive impairment that is severe enough to affect everyday function (Chow et al., 2018). The impairment and disability resulting from dementia indicates a significant health problem in primary care. Findings from research studies indicate that prophylactic and periodic screening for dementia can heighten provider suspicion and translate into earlier …

Effectiveness Of An Open Access Scheduling System In A Community Mental Health Center, Callie Crockett

Doctoral Projects

Abstract

Open Access Schedule (OAS) systems are a new way to schedule patient appointment in an outpatient medical setting. In theory these systems will provide many benefits that are not seen in a traditional scheduling model, such as decreased wait times to see a provider and more provider flexibility. However, little research has been done to examine how effective these systems are once they are put into practice, particularly in the mental health setting. The purpose of this project was to examine a recently implemented open access scheduling system in a community mental health center in rural Northeast Tennessee and …

A Clinical Practice Change Initiative To Incorporate Animal Assisted Therapy In Advanced Practice Registered Nurses' Clinical Practice For Children And Adolescents, Donna Rae Cowell

Doctoral Projects

Background: Children and adolescents mental healthcare needs is vital for the future of our nation’s welfare (American Psychology Association, 2014). Research has indicated AAT may be a considerable choice to help with pediatrics mental healthcare and may be utilized as an adjunct to enhance the care within the psychiatric healthcare field (Chandler, 2012). AAT has become popular within the healthcare realm (Friesen, 2009; Uyemura, 2016) and is a unique method for providing “patients” health care, which may improve patient outcomes (Chandler, 2012; Cowell, 2013; McCullough, 2016; McQuarrie & Urichuk, 2008). Research supports that “providers” in the health care field may …

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Workforce Development In Behavioral Healthcare Settings In Rural Mississippi, Arlen Davis Cooper

Doctoral Projects

Description and Significance of the Problem: The United States is facing a significant rural mental healthcare workforce shortage and an uneven distribution of mental healthcare professionals. The psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) may increase access to mental healthcare in rural underserved regions (NRHA, 2012). However, little is known regarding their distribution. The lack of uniform and consistent data collection methods regarding the number and the geographic distribution of PMHNPs in rural areas, specifically in rural Mississippi, exists. The importance of better data collection and improving infrastructure through collaboration with state licensing boards and state nursing workforce centers is …