Nursing Commons^™

Supporting Postnatal Women With Opioid Use Disorder Treated With Medication Avoidance Therapy, Lea Ann Quave

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent data in 28 U.S. states revealed that opioid use during pregnancy had increased by four times since 2014, going from 1.5 to 6.5 per 1,000 admissions. The use of opioids during pregnancy is dangerous to the mother and developing fetus, greatly increasing the risk for maternal death, miscarriage, and premature birth. The increase in the number of women with opioid abuse disorder (OUD) is reflected by a fivefold increase of infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a withdrawal syndrome from opioids. Corresponding with U.S. trends, a community hospital in the Texas Gulf Coast region has seen an increase …

Use Of The Cameo Ii Acuity Tool To Decrease Burnout For Nurses Working In A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Frances Lynn Feria-Clement

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported registered nurse burnout is an occupational hazard resulting in serious consequences for patients, healthcare organizations, and individual registered nurses (Woo et al., 2020). The purpose of this project was to see if the Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes II (CAMEO II) Acuity Tool, used as an intervention for staffing and scheduling, would have a positive effect against nurse burnout in a pediatric critical care setting in a pediatric medical center. Maslach’s Burnout Inventory- Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSSMP) was used as a pre- and postsurvey to measure the emotional …

A Program Evaluation Of A Rural Nursing Academic Partnership, Meagan A. Spencer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education continue to promote the implementation and creation of literature on academic partnerships, a Christian university, sought to evaluate its academic partnership with a for-profit hospital for the first time in regard to student perspectives. The purpose of this mixed-methods program evaluation was to describe the student perceptions of the academic partnership in trusting, collaborating, and engaging nursing students and recruiting and retaining nursing graduates to rural hospitals and health care facilities. Measurable impacts included both qualitative and quantitative coding of the levels of trust, collaboration, and …

Determining The Effectiveness Of A Peer Support Person In Individuals With Depression Symptoms, Donna K. Reeves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study’s aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of an existing peer support program as an adjunct treatment for patients with depression. This retrospective evaluation analyzed the total scores of 110 patients with depression on the PHQ-9 questionnaire at the initial assessment (Time 1), at 6-weeks (Time 2), and then at 12-weeks (Time 3). The participants were divided into two groups, those who enrolled in a peer support program (n = 55) and those without peer support (n = 55). PHQ-9 total scores for each time interval were compared for the two groups utilizing independent sample t-tests …

Lowering Perceived Stress Levels In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Caitlin Dodd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project analyzed the effects of guided meditations and a stress management class on undergraduate, prelicensure nursing students’ perceived stress levels. College students and professional nurses are both susceptible to having high stress levels. Mindfulness activities have been shown to lower stress levels. Undergraduate, prelicensure nursing students participated in this project determining the effects of guided meditations and a stress management class on perceived stress levels in a quantitative, pre- and postinterventional study. Participants in the project completed a stress management class and 18 guided meditation sessions in an undergraduate classroom setting. The researcher used the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) …

Stroke Preventive In African American Women Ages 20-40 That Are Using Or Have Used Oral Contraceptives, Ashanti L. N. Coleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Doctor of Nursing Practice project will inform the audience of stroke awareness as it pertains to oral contraceptives. The study’s focus was to enhance the knowledge of African American women ages 20–40 that have used or are currently using an oral contraceptive. It has been identified that this patient population lacked the knowledge regarding stroke and oral contraceptives, and African American women continue to have the highest incidence of stroke. African American women also make up more than half of the consumers utilizing oral contraceptives. An oral contraceptive knowledge questionnaire was utilized from previous research to determine if any …

Qualifications Of Executive Nurses For Service On Hospital Boards, Michelle Lee Foxx

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Healthcare governing boards have responsibility for the legal and financial stability of the organization. They are assuming more responsibility for quality care and outcomes. Nurse leaders have valuable insights into key shared governance issues such as quality of care, financial performance, legal requirements, and regulatory oversight. Yet, only 5% of the 3.2 million nurses in the U.S. health workforce hold a seat on hospital governing boards in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses with executive experience perceive their own leadership qualities in the context of established requirements for executive hospital boards. Fifty …

A School-Based Sexual Health Education Program, Tracy L. Kendall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A small rural community has high incidence rates of chlamydia (4,751 per 100,000) and gonorrhea (970 per 100,000) in females 15–24 years old. Data obtained from Texas Health and Human Services showed that incidence rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in females 15–24 years old were higher in Navarro County, Texas, than the state of Texas. Texas schools do not mandate sex health education. There is a gap in school-based sexual health education available to 18- and 19-year-old females residing in this rural community in Texas. The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the impact of school-based sexual health …

Medical Noncompliance In A Pediatric Patient Living In A Single-Parent Household, Lucy Obianuju Norrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Noncompliance is a patient’s inability to comply with the recommended treatment for their complete recovery from an ailment, while compliance is the extent to which a patient adheres to the provider’s directive, such as medication and orders given. The purpose of this study was to determine if motivational interviewing when applied to noncompliant pediatric patients from single-parent households, would improve global medical compliance in this population as compared to the standard of care at the end of three months. Thirty-two participants were recruited using the homogeneous purposeful sampling. The project employed a mixed-method approach. Fred Kleinsinger’s noncompliant behavior tool …

Utilization Of A Concurrent Query Form To Improve Clinical Documentation In A Va Facility For Patients With Stroke Or Tia, Lisa A. Keefner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Caring for stroke patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and transient ischemic attack (TIA) at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) acute care hospitals is a very complex process that centers on accurate documentation. Inaccurate or missing documentation leads to patient safety issues, lower quality care, and inaccurate Veteran Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) classification for reimbursement. This pilot project’s 3 problems of interest include improving provider response to clinical queries about documentation, capturing national metrics collected by the VHA, and accurately representing veterans in VERA classification. Based on a review of the literature available on patient treatment file (PTF) accuracy and …

Effect Of Creatinine Point-Of-Care Testing On Turnaround Time For Computed Tomography Exams With Intravenous Contrast, Shannon Haltom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Emergency departments often have a stigma of long wait times. They face multiple challenges related to the flow of patient care due to the variety of factors that affect care and treatment. In order to support patient-centered care, the purpose of this project was to determine if point-of-care testing of creatinine decreases turnaround time for computed tomography exams with intravenous contrast in the emergency department. A mixed methodology of consecutive sampling and retrospective data collection was used. In all, 128 ratio data elements were reviewed, including a retrospective review of 64 charts from September 2018 and a consecutive sample …

How Do Nurse-To-Patient Ratios In The Emergency Department Impact Patient Experience?, Jessica L. Marcoux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a lack of consensus about the staffing matrix across nursing and especially in emergency

nursing, where variations in arrival patterns, acuity, social determinants of health, and length of stay all impact the workload of emergency nurses. The objective of this paper was to determine if government-mandated staffing ratios had a greater impact on patient experience at hospitals in California than staffing based on hours per patient visit at hospitals in Massachusetts. Seven hospitals from the state of California with government-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios were compared to 7 hospitals from Massachusetts that did not have mandated staffing ratios to determine …

Increasing Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors In Cargo Drivers, Ronda L. Bell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to examine the extent to which lifestyle behaviors of transportation drivers in North Texas can be improved with health education. This research study was conducted to examine the health behaviors of transportation drivers as a result of an educational partnership between nursing and the transportation industry. The goal was to improve healthy lifestyles through education to decrease chronic illness and comorbid conditions of a significantly at-risk occupational population. The impact of this education was immediate and verified with quantitative measurement and statistical analysis. Results demonstrated that after nurse-led health education, transportation drivers reported significant …

The Impact Of Education On The Attitudes Of Staff Of A Rehabilitation Hospital, Kathryn Voreis, Kathryn G. Voreis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stroke, also known as CVA or cerebrovascular accident, is a major chronic disease worldwide. In the United States, it is the leading cause of disability, costing a billion dollars each year (CDC, 2017). Typically, Western medicine is used for the treatment of stroke in the United States. An approach that has potential to improve general health outcomes, movement, mobility, aphasia, and quality of life includes acupuncture along with the standard therapies. The purpose of this quantitative research was to determine if the staff of a rehabilitation hospital would have a change in attitude after an educational program on acupuncture. The …

The Effect Of Care Coordination On Hemoglobin A1c For Type 2 Diabetes Patients, Lee Ann Hinsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to test the impact of care coordinator visits by primary care registered nurses on serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. In the study, the researcher compared 2 groups of type 2 diabetes patients—those who had care coordinator visits from registered nurses and those who did not—through retrospective data collection and analysis from the patients’ electronic medical record from July 2018 through December 2018. An independent samples t test was used to compare the means of the intervention and control groups’ change in HbA1c levels. The intervention and control groups …

Reducing Gaps In Knowledge About Electroconvulsive Therapy Among Mental Health Nurses, Janice L. Edmonson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This DNP study was conducted to identify knowledge gaps about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) among mental health nurses and to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention on the knowledge and attitude of mental health nurses about the use of ECT at a psychiatric hospital. In this study, the researcher sought to build upon an existing knowledge base using principles of adult learning theory to enhance the therapeutic relationship of the nursing staff when caring for ECT patients. A sample of three-quarters (N = 119) of the mental health nursing staff employed by the psychiatric hospital consented to participate in …

Improving Low Health Literacy In Poststroke Patients By Educating The Health Care Staff, Marthilde Brzycki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Lack of health literacy in the poststroke patient population is a serious issue; with the addition of the homeless population to that group, the result may be devastating. According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA, 2016), stroke is considered the primary cause of death and one of the chief reasons for disability in the United States, and nearly75% of strokes occur in those who are 65 years of age or older. Nurse practitioners are vital, providing necessary training and stroke education to the nursing and other health care staff. This DNP project was initiated to …