Quality Improvement Commons^™

A Narrative Review Of Barriers To Utilization Of Surgical Risk Assessment Calculators, Jacob Lahti, Kaiya A. Noe, Abigail Veenstra, Sarah Gallitto, Victoria I. De Leon, Thomas C. Varkey, Nimit Agarwal

Annual Research Symposium

Over the last several decades, it has become the desire of surgical and medical teams to decrease risk levels involved for patients undergoing surgery. However, despite the advent of risk assessment calculators to help physicians obtain more accurate and objective judgements for postoperative complications, these tools are underutilized in standard clinical practices in comparison to other methods of risk assessment. This is likely due at least in part to certain barriers that decrease their functionality and ease of use. This review discusses the major barriers to the utilization of current risk calculators so as to allow for a better understanding …

The Effectiveness Of Cochlear Implants On Cognitive Function In Children And Adolescents With Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review, Harshita Sarambale, Joshua Ahdout, Srinija Balabhadra, Yesenia Valle Ramirez, John V. Rider Phd, Otr/L, M. De Armond Mfa, Mslis, S. Koshy-Chenthittayil Phd

Annual Research Symposium

This ongoing research project is a medical student led systematic review on cognitive function in pediatric cochlear implant patients.

Acute Care For Elders Unit Implementation At Banner Health: A Quality Improvement Analysis, Jacob Lahti, Tony Gaidici, Shreya Bharath, Esha Saraswat, Nimit Agarwal

Annual Research Symposium

There is an increasing need to optimize hospital care for older adults as Age Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) become increasingly popular. Geriatric patients may often be subject to extended hospital stays, which can result in functional decline, increases in hospital-acquired injury, infections, and neurocognitive deterioration. Early acute inpatient rehabilitation (IRF) is known to improve functional optimization of older adults as compared to therapy in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). In this study we demonstrate the effect of a structured program based on the 4Ms of AFHS in our newly established Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit, a first in Arizona. …

The Opportunities And Barriers Surrounding The Use Of Digital Health And Telemedicine In Sub-Saharan Africa, Aveline Langmead, Afua Osei-Wusu, Erica Tutuwan, Sara Mcmahon, Porter Biggs

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis In Orthopedic Surgery: A Narrative Review, Jacob Lahti, Sarah Gallitto, Thomas C. Varkey

Annual Research Symposium

This poster highlights current and updated guidelines for chemical and mechanical prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing major and minor orthopedic surgery. Existing and new potential therapies were reviewed, as well as an analysis into the lack of high-quality risk-prediction score calculators to improve personalization of prophylaxis regimens. Alongside a summary of existing and potential new prophylaxis protocols, a call to action to improve validity of said risk score calculators so as to improve patient outcomes and personalized medicine is made.

The Use Of Meditation/Mindfulness To Improve Anxiety In Young Adults, Aaron Wilkerson

Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner

Without intervention and relief from stress and anxiety, it can cause physical, psychological, and behavioral abnormalities (Kim et al., 2018). Chronic stress has been found to be prevalent among young adult age, students, and is having lasting negative effects on mental, emotional, and physical health, including feelings of being overwhelmed, hopelessness, loneliness, and even suicidal ideation (Burgstahler & Stenson, 2020). The practice of meditation and mindfulness offers a non-pharmacological option over the typical standard-of-care pharmacological treatment and provides a life skill for young adults to manage their stress and anxiety, ultimately overall improving their mental health (Lemay et al., 2019). …

Using Physical Therapy As First Line Treatment For Sciatica Vs. Invasive Intervention, Christina Mohammed

Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner

Sciatica nerve pain affects a large part of the human population. Evaluation by a primary care provider and a referral to physical therapy as first line treatment, may help reduce sciatic nerve pain and result in reduced need for invasive surgical intervention.

Sulopenem For The Treatment Of Complicated And Uncomplicated Bacterial Urinary Tract Infection (Uti), Aiyi Chen, Thanh-Liem Vu, Daniel J. Yang, Landon Olsen

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Clinical Effects Of Lactobacillus Reuteri Probiotic In The Treatment Of Chronic Periodontitis: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Josephine Ram, Shilpa Bhandi, Kamran H. Awan, Frank Licari, Shankargouda Patil

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Post-Partum Depression (Ppd) Screening Tools Effectiveness In Refugee Populations, Joshua Jensen

Annual Research Symposium

Purpose:

Immigrant mothers check all the boxes that are significant risk factors for developing or exacerbating Postpartum Depression (PPD). These risk factors include, suffering in solitude, cultural conceptualizations, barriers to help seeking, and a lack of facilitators to help seeking. Despite this very little research has been done to find effective screening methods for this population.

The purpose of this research project is to compile the works of those before me to determine whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression or the PHQ 9 screening tool is the most effective for immigrant mothers.

Methods:

Research determining the effectivity of the two tests …

Virtual Reality For Pediatric Pain Management, Leonard Paulo

Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner

Abstract: It is well-studied that inadequate pain management is detrimental to the pediatric population because inadequate pain management can lead to noncompliance when pertaining to needle sticks that can carry into adulthood, one out of four adults is estimated to have a fear of needles which often develops in childhood. Evidence-based practice report that the use of distraction is a simple and efficient method to minimize the trauma that some children feel when getting immunization or venipuncture. Under the lens of pain gate theory and capacity theory, Virtual Reality has been studied and shown to minimize pain. VR is …

Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Deficiency (Ssadhd): Qualitative Needs Assessment For Patients With A Rare Neurological Disorder, Cassandra Bovee, Kayla Woodring

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Hormone Therapy For Treatment Of Depression, Johna Beard

Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner

No abstract provided.

O4: Using Principles Of Continuous Improvement To Impact Hospital Consumer Assessment Of Healthcare Providers And Systems (Hcahps) Scores Through Pharmacy-Driven Interventions, Brittany Harnicher, Bertha Castrellon, Dongkoo Khang, Monique Gurney, Rick Carlson

Annual Research Symposium

Purpose

Intermountain Healthcare’s operating model is one of continuous improvement. This model was used to identify barriers and develop pharmacy-driven interventions to improve the communication about medicines domain scores within the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. This survey offers objective and meaningful information that is important for consumers and creates incentives for hospitals to improve quality of care. This study took place at Riverton Hospital, a 97-bed community hospital that is part of the Intermountain Healthcare system in Utah.

Methods

We reported scores from the surveys between January 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020. Our …

O3: Current State Of Malpractice Litigation In Orthodontics, Hamid Pour

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.