Nursing Commons^™

Approach To Developing Basic And Scientific Writing Competency In Dnp Students At Samuel Merritt University, Michelle Hampton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Individualized Nurse Report Cards And Unit Case Reports On The Awareness And Attitudes Of Nurses Towards Clabsi Contributing Factors, Shannon K. Hawkins

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

This DNP project examined the effect of unit case reports and individualized nurse report cards on nurses’ awareness of and attitudes toward central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) contributing factors. This project also sought to determine whether CLABSI incidences differed across units and if that was affected by nurses’ awareness of and attitudes toward CLABSI contributing factors. A convenience sample of registered nurses (RNs) across four medical units was included in this project. Of the 79 RNs who participated in providing feedback on this project, 48 RNs completed pre-implementation surveys, resulting in a response rate of 61%, and 53 completed post-implementation …

Exploring Patterns Of Health-Promoting Lifestyles Of Academic Nurse Educators, Tracy Campbell

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Participating in health-promoting behaviors is essential for maintaining optimal physical and mental well-being. Nurses play a significant role in supporting the nation’s health, however, nursing shortages impact the ability to meet the complex health demands in a growing population. Guided by Nola J. Pender's health promotion model, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the self-perceived health-promoting lifestyle behaviors of faculty nurse educators. A convenience sample of 13 faculty nurses were studied using a descriptive, non-experimental research design. The 52-item Health-Promoting Lifestyle II (HPLP II) survey was used to evaluate the six dimensions of: health responsibility, interpersonal relations, nutrition, …

Student Perception Of Blended Course Activities, Valerie Bailey

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

The flipped classroom has been implemented within the nursing curricula to promote increased student classroom satisfaction, student engagement in the classroom, and improve retention of complex nursing concepts. This research study evaluated how the implementation of the flipped classroom contributed to the overall perception of a new instructional model of teaching within an Associate degree program for a summer nursing course. A variety of research articles were reviewed to assist in the construction of this instructional approach for this nursing course. The research articles reviewed revealed through statistical analysis that overall satisfaction of the flipped classroom approach was successful in …

Telehealth Education And Training For School Nurses, Billie C. Walker

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Telehealth, as a healthcare delivery model, is quickly integrating into various healthcare fields. School health is one area of nursing that is preparing for this integration. This study explored through literature review, the previous studies conducted on this type of service. Evidence found more research was needed on this topic. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate an increase in school nurse’s confidence and commitment level to implementation of telehealth. A purposeful sample was used in the selection of participants for this study. This project was conducted in a small rural county school system located in the North West …

The Impact A Nurse's Work Environment Has On Breastfeeding, Ashley Dawn Hull

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Breastfeeding is a global health initiative, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), because of its numerous health benefits to mothers and infants. Despite breast milk’s documented benefits to mothers and babies, many women are not choosing to breastfeed their infants. A lack of paid maternity leave policy within the United States influences postpartum responsibilities, physically, and psychologically. This paper presents nurses’ responses to the Workplace Breastfeeding Support Scale survey regarding their workplace environment support of breastfeeding. Nurses providing direct patient care for more than 50% of their shifts revealed 45.5% disagreed in some variance with their comfort in …

Community Health Worker Interventions To Promote Psychosocial Outcomes Among People Living With Hiv—A Systematic Review, H Han, K Kim, Jeanne Murphy, J Cudjoe, P Wilson, P Sharps, J Farley

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background

Community health worker (CHW) interventions are a successful strategy to promote health among HIV-negative and persons living with HIV (PLWH). Psychosocial factors are critical dimensions of HIV/AIDS care contributing to prognosis of the disease, yet it is unclear how CHW interventions improve psychosocial outcomes in PLWH. The purpose of this study was to critically appraise the types, scope, and nature of CHW interventions designed to address psychosocial outcomes in PLWH.

Methods

We performed database searches—PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane—to identify randomized controlled trials published in English before April 2017. Fourteen articles met the eligibility criteria.

Results

Half of the …

Implementing The Coordinated-Transitional Care Program To Reduce All Cause Readmissions, Tonya Page

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Readmission to an acute care hospital are common, costly, and frequently avoidable. Transitions of care are critical to quality, safe patient care and increases effective prevention of readmissions. Although there is an abundance of knowledge related to causes of hospital readmissions and the effectiveness of preventative measures hospital readmission continue to plague healthcare organizations. A review of the literature was conducted, and 11 studies were reviewed and analyzed. The literature review showed evidence to support implementing a telephonic post-discharge follow-up protocol as an effective intervention to reduce hospital readmissions. The purpose of this project was to implement a telephonic, protocol-driven …

Implementing An Evidence Based Fall Prevention Program In A Long-Term Care Facility, Annie Schweikert

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Falls among the elderly are a significant problem with severe consequences. Residents of long-term facilities account for twenty percent of fatal falls. It is imperative that evidence-based practices be implemented at this level of care to address this problem. A multifaceted evidence-based fall prevention program was implemented at a 70 bed, skilled nursing, long-term care facility located in Florida, whose fall rate of 7.14 is above than the national average (2.74-5.48). The fall prevention program included staff education, implementation of a checklist for universal fall precautions, post fall huddles, and the appointment of a falls champion. One-month post intervention results …

The Effect Of Ostomate-To-Ostomate Support On Psychosocial Adaptation To Stoma, Marjorie C. Summers

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Approximately one million people in North America are living with an ostomy, and an additional 100,000 will undergo ostomy surgery annually. Persons living with ostomies, often referred to as ostomates, require specialized care and management to sustain physical health and quality of life. Fecal diversion ostomates, when compared to the general population, are more likely to experience psychological disturbance and higher levels of depression. These ostomates have reported increased loneliness, lowered self-esteem, decreased or absent libido, irritability, suicidal ideation, poor self-image, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia. Being an ostomate has been associated with a reduction in …

The Effect Of Fall Prevention Education That Includes A Fall Safety Agreement On Fall Incident Rates, Rebecca Dotson

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Patients experiencing falls while in the acute care setting is a challenge that plagues healthcare. In 2014, 29 million hospitalized patients fell causing 7 million injuries. Eighty-five percent or greater of unfavorable hospital occurrences are linked to falls. Falls occur regularly and can have detrimental effects both physically and psychologically. Literature reviews revealed encouraging results in relation to a reduction in falls with fall prevention education and the use of a fall safety agreement. The purpose of this project was to explore the effect of fall prevention education including a fall safety agreement on falls and falls with injury during …

Use Of The Coleman Transition Model To Reduce Copd Readmissions, Sara Briggs

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This paper explores the use of the Coleman Transition Model as an evidenced based intervention to reduce 30-day readmissions of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients on a pulmonary unit. Nearly 20% of Medicare beneficiaries are re-hospitalized within 30 days after discharge, resulting in an annual cost of approximately $17 billion. Hospitals can engage in activities to lower their rate of readmissions. The evidenced based intervention includes robust case management using The Coleman Transition Model in hospitalized COPD patients to reduce readmissions. COPD is a prevalent, complex, and costly condition to manage. COPD is now the third leading cause of …

Patient Deterioration Simulation Education And New Graduate Nurses' Self-Confidence And Competence, Heather B. Norris

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Inconsistent identification and intervention for patient deteriorations has been identified as a global healthcare issue that has a profound effect on patient outcomes. Failure to rescue (FTR) rates are influenced by the quality of care a hospital provides in the event of patient deterioration. Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) are summoned to the bedside in the event of a patient deterioration to assess the patient and intervene quickly. Efficient use of RRTs prevents cardiopulmonary arrests and decreases hospital mortality, thirty-day morality, and length of stay. Patient deterioration simulation education can improve the use of RRTs and positively influence patient outcomes. New …

A Process Improvement For Depression Screening And Management In A University Health Clinic, Margaret H. Zoellers

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Research indicates that among college students, there is a high prevalence of depression that is frequently undiagnosed and untreated, placing students at risk of impaired academic performance and suicidal behavior. The purpose of the evidence-based process improvement was: a) establish a depression screening and management protocol in the university health clinic, and b) increase university health clinic providers’ knowledge of evidence-based depression screening and management. Family nurse practitioner providers in the university health clinic (n=6) participated in a depression screening and management education program. Knowledge of evidence-based depression screening and management was measured prior to and after the program. A …

Care Coordination: Using A Nurse Navigator In An Endoscopy Unit, Judith L. Poe

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Compliance with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in Kentucky is low. This is substantiated by Kentucky having the highest rate of new CRC cases in the nation and being the fourth highest in CRC-related mortality. Kentucky’s colorectal screening rate in 2012 was 62.9%. The incidence rate for colorectal cancer in Kentucky is 49.2 per 100,000 which is the highest rate in the United States. Patient navigation has shown promise in increasing compliance with CRC screening and reducing health disparities. The adoption of a patient navigation model in an endoscopy unit can increase efficiency, reduce patient cancellations and same day no show …

Best Practices For Screening, Identification, And Referral Of Female Collegiate Athletes With Disordered Eating, Brenda Caudill

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, including depression. Female collegiate athletes are at greater risk compared to the non-athlete population. Athletic personnel should be prepared to screen, identify, and refer female athletes for eating disorders. However, most staff are not familiar with common signs and symptoms of disordered eating, which could delay recognition of unhealthy behavior and ultimately long-term health risks. Appropriate screening protocols can assist with early identification. The purpose of this DNP project was improve the knowledge of the athletic staff regarding eating disorder recognition, awareness of university policy for identification and referral …

Designing A Nurse Residency Program For Cultural Fit: A Pilot Project, Melinda Blair

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

New graduate registered nurse (NGRN) turnover in an acute care setting is estimated between 35% - 61% nationally and is costly to an organization. Costs are estimated between $60,000 – $90,000 dollars to replace one NGRN. A smooth transition from student nurse to professional nurse is fraught with problems, including increased job stress and pressures imposed on the NGRN from a high-paced, uncertain health care environment. The purpose of this project was to design a customized nurse residency program (NRP) curriculum to increase NGRN retention. NRP curriculum elements were identified using findings from the Casey Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey …

A Nurse Mentor Program In A Long Term Acute Care Hospital, Regina Masters

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nurse turnover is a national problem with the potential to affect quality of care and patient outcomes. A Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) with nurse turnover rates above the national average as high as 28% sought to address this problem. A review of the literature identified nurse mentor programs increasing registered nurse (RN) satisfaction and decreasing turnover. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to implement a mentor program for newly hired RNs. Mentors were paired with new RNs for a four-week program. Pre and post intervention data were collected via the McCloskey Mueller Nurse Satisfaction Survey (MMSS) and …

Medication Error Reporting To Improve Patient Safety, Dianna Madden

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine estimated that 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events occur in healthcare facilities annually (Institute of Medicine, 2006). Each ADE adds approximately $8,750 per hospital stay (Institute of Medicine, 2006). In 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimated that 1.3 million people are injured annually from medication errors (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2017). For the purposes of this project, all Registered Nurse staff on the Medical-Surgical unit were mandated to participate in an education targeted at medication error reporting, the importance of reporting, and a demonstration of inputting an error into the …

Quantum Confined Peptide Assemblies With Tunable Visible To Near-Infrared Spectral Range, Kai Tao, Zhen Fan, Leming Sun, Pandeeswar Makam, Zhen Tian, Mark Ruegsegger, Shira Shaham-Niv, Derek Hansford, Ruth Aizen, Zui Pan, Scott Galster, Jianjie Ma, Fan Yuan, Mingsu Si, Songnan Qu, Mingjun Zhang, Ehud Gazit, Junbai Li

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Quantum confined materials have been extensively studied for photoluminescent applica- tions. Due to intrinsic limitations of low biocompatibility and challenging modulation, the utilization of conventional inorganic quantum confined photoluminescent materials in bio- imaging and bio-machine interface faces critical restrictions. Here, we present aromatic cyclo-dipeptides that dimerize into quantum dots, which serve as building blocks to further self-assemble into quantum confined supramolecular structures with diverse morphologies and photoluminescence properties. Especially, the emission can be tuned from the visible region to the near-infrared region (420 nm to 820 nm) by modulating the self-assembly process. Moreover, no obvious cytotoxic effect is observed for …

Strategies For Recruiting A Sample Of Adults With Type 2 Diabetes From Primary Care Clinics In Rural Appalachia: Incorporating Cultural Competence, Roger Carpenter, Laurie A. Theeke

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Recruiting research participants from primary care in rural Appalachia is a major challenge and can be influenced by cultural characteristics, making it critically important to incorporate strategies of cultural competence in the overall design of clinical research. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to describe culturally competent strategies used for recruitment and data collection with a sample of adults with type 2 diabetes from primary care settings in Appalachia.

Design: The Purnell model of cultural competence and relevant literature served as a framework for study design. Four overarching approaches informed the organization of recruitment strategies and development of …

Method Overtness, Forensic Autopsy, And The Evidentiary Suicide Note: A Multilevel National Violent Death Reporting System Analysis, Ian R. H. Rockett, Eric D. Caine, Steven Stack, Hilary S. Connery, Kurt B. Nolte, Christa L. Lilly, Ted R. Miller, Lewis S. Nelson, Sandra L. Putnam, Paul S. Nestadt, Haomiao Jia

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objective

Higher prevalence of suicide notes could signify more conservatism in accounting and greater proneness to undercounting of suicide by method. We tested two hypotheses: (1) an evidentiary suicide note is more likely to accompany suicides by drug-intoxication and by other poisoning, as less violent and less forensically overt methods, than suicides by firearm and hanging/suffocation; and (2) performance of a forensic autopsy attenuates any observed association between overtness of method and the reported presence of a note.

Methods

This multilevel (individual/county), multivariable analysis employed a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM). Representing the 17 states participating in the United States …

Association Of Youth Characteristics And Recent Utilization Of Dental Services In The United States, Ilana R. A. Chertok, Nathaniel Chertok, Zelalem T. Haile, Bhakti Chavan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Oral health is important for overall health of youth, although dental service utilization is lower than national goals. The purpose of the study was to identify sociodemographic and health behavioral characteristics of youth in the United States who reported having at least one dental visit in the past 12 months.

Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to examine factors associated with dental care utilization using Andersen’s theory-based Behavioral Model of Health Care Utilization.

Results: Among 5,814 youth, nearly 78 percent reported visiting a dentist in the past 12 months. After adjusting …

The Effectiveness Of Mi Smart: A Nurse Practitioner Led Technology Intervention For Multiple Chronic Conditions In Primary Care, Jennifer A. Mallow Phd, Laurie Theeke, Elliott Theeke, Brain K. Mallow

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Aims: Used as integrated tools, technology may improve access and outcomes of care. A new inter- vention that integrates multiple technologies called mI SMART has been developed, implemented, and evaluated by Nurse Practitioners. The aim of this paper is to present the initial effectiveness of a web- based, structure of sensors and mobile devices designed to overcome the known health determinant of access to care for rural, chronically ill patients by using technology.

Methods: The study was conducted at a community primary-care clinic that provides free healthcare to impoverished adults. Adults with at least one chronic condition, a minimum of …

The Perceptions And Experiences On Professional Caring Dispositions In Online And Hybrid Nursing Programs Among Veteran Nursing Educators, Devorah Overbay

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Integration of technology combined with the digitization of the classroom requires significant planning and financial commitment for educational institutions. A tension of sorts has developed that places additional pressure on many academic disciplines, especially applied disciplines such as nursing to teach effectively in the new digital landscape. Educators and students alike may find that the ever advancing technology and learning objectives do not always align in the ways they did in traditional classroom instruction. For an applied discipline, the field of nursing education is faced with many significant challenges to deliver high quality and relevant training in shifting learning environments. …

Investigating Aromatherapy As A Test Anxiety Intervention For Undergraduate Nursing Students, Brittany Graham

Education Dissertations and Projects

This project seeks to explore the concept of aromatherapy as an intervention for undergraduate nursing student test anxiety in greater depth. Test anxiety is significant in nursing education because of the high stakes weight of exams and difficulties associated with answering multiple choice and multiple response questions. Historically, the Hunt School of Nursing has not provided specific procedures or interventions to assist students with test anxiety; however, this project seeks to outline a pathway for the development and achievement of a successful aromatherapy program for undergraduate students. On an informal trial basis, the use of aromatherapy lotions prior to exams …

Retinal Detachment, Christa Kerns

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Vision is one of a few senses people take for granted but imagine the shift in quality of life if suddenly there was a black curtain covering a patient’s visual field. Symptoms of retinal detachment can present as benign visual disturbances that could be dismissed by both patients and providers. The symptoms can be so subtle that patients present as asymptomatic and are often detected during primary care visits. Retinal detachment is more often diagnosed as people age and the visual structures become weakened or in patients that have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes. Retinal detachment can be challenging …

Pathophysiology Of Insulin Resistance And Type Ii Diabetes Mellitus, Drew Linardi

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

No abstract provided.

Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (Trali), Tony Lybarger

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

No abstract provided.

Ibuprofen Does Not Increase Blood Pressure In Preeclampsia, Sofia Costas, Sherry Hutton, Cindy Kenyon

All Nursing Boot Camp Posters

No abstract provided.