Nursing Commons^™

Complementary Alternative Medicine: An Education Of Guided Self-Care In The Elderly Population For Management Of Chronic Conditions, Janice B. Gerber

Theses and Graduate Projects

The elderly population, specifically the residents in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) or nursing homes, suffer from chronic conditions, many of which have a psychological and behavioral component. Conventional medicine treats the chronic conditions from one symptom to another through pharmacological interventions, which resulted in polypharmacy. Gathering evidenced-base practice of Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) will maximize opportunities for the elderly population to manage chronic conditions. The application of Parse’s Theory of Human Becoming (HBT) with self-guided education of CAM modalities in SNF explores the significant concepts of personal meaning, rhythmical patterns, and transcendence. Grounded on HBT, the self- guided education …

Pediatric Obesity: Prevention, Assessment And Treatment In Primary Care, Susan Johnson

Theses and Graduate Projects

People of all ages deserve care for the disease of obesity. Pediatric obesity affects one in three children in the United States, and the number of obese children has tripled since the 1970s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2018a). High blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnea are complications that pediatric patients now face, and these diseases are well known to worsen quality of, and potentially shorten life. This scholarly project addresses the question: How can family nurse practitioners effectively address pediatric obesity in the primary care setting? Interventions early in life, perhaps even pre-conception, …

Social Empowerment Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Shawna Hanson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder, marked by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. These symptoms contribute to difficulties with psychosocial functioning, often leading to feelings of inferiority. Several studies identify that those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have lower self-perceptions with risks for comorbidities and poor quality of life. However, few studies have attempted to provide interventions to increase the self-perceptions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Most interventions for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder focus on giving medications and implementing behavioral modification techniques to externally control behaviors. However, this scholarly project …

Nurse Practitioners And Community Health Workers Improve Community Health, Emmalee F. Voskuil

Theses and Graduate Projects

Addressing health disparities in primary care is essential for the advanced practice nurse practitioner(NP). Recent research demonstrates that the United States spends more money on health care than any other country of equal income but has worse outcomes, including lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality rates, and more stratified health inequities (Papanicolas, Woskie, & Jha, 2018). The NP has many opportunities to improve healthcare by partnering with diverse voices that seek to change the healthcare system. To better address health disparities among marginalized people in Minnesota, this scholarly project will determine best practices for the development and incorporation of community …

Latina Adolescent Dating Violence Public Narrative, Megan Staffen

Theses and Graduate Projects

A scholarly project has been conducted to assess use of public narrative between health care providers (HCPs) and Latina adolescents to reduce dating violence (DV) health consequences. Latina adolescents require an innovative, transcultural approach for dating violence care to reduce barriers to care. Healthcare providers must structure dating violence care to Latina adolescents due to different dating violence patterns and health consequences compared to other ethnicities and generations. There is minimal evidence- based research on the use of public narrative and its effects of use in the healthcare setting. The application of public narrative and the citizen professional will be …

Postpartum Support: Application Of A Local Peer Support, Community Care Model, Stephanie E. Ward

Theses and Graduate Projects

The postpartum period is one of the most influential developmental stages of a women’s life and represents a time of heightened risk for mental health decline. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders have been implicated as a key influence of negative parenting experiences, poor newborn psychological outcomes, delayed newborn development, and inadequately adaptive family development behaviors. Integrating established resiliency components against mental illness, such as social support, into a postpartum care model can benefit postpartum women and secondarily positively impact the aforementioned outcomes. A community care model highlighting social support for postpartum mothers was integrated into a rural Minnesota region and …

Improving Family Nurse Practitioners’ Knowledge Of Palliative Care Resources, Michelle L. Bond

Theses and Graduate Projects

The shift in healthcare indicates Americans are living longer with progressive chronic illnesses subsequently reducing quality-of-life. Primary care providers have opportunities to assess the need for and implement palliative care to offer holistic symptom management to improve patient’s quality-of-life. The purpose of this scholarly project, guided by Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, is to assess primary care providers knowledge and comfort regarding initiating palliative care while determining if additional education improves their familiarity. The objectives were to review current palliative care literature identifying barriers and inadequacies, determine evidence-based practice to develop an educational presentation and resources to improve communication, …

Advance Care Planning Education For Older Adults, Jamie E. Seaquist

Theses and Graduate Projects

Advanced care planning guides health care professionals and surrogate decision-makers choices on end of life (EOL) care when individuals are no longer able to speak for themselves. Advanced care plans can benefit patients in their last six months of life by improving their quality of life and by reducing family members anxiety, depression, and stress when dealing with EOL treatment options. Aside from these benefits, poor communication and knowledge deficits often create barriers when medical staff, families or patients try to broach the subject of EOL care. Barriers can be overcome when health care professionals facilitate advanced care planning conversations …

Educational Tool For Chronic Low Back Pain Interventional Procedures And Modalities, Stacy Dominy

MSN Capstone Projects

Chronic low back pain is a problem for many people. It can be debilitating and those suffering often have a difficult time finding relief. Many times, people rely on potentially dangerous and and addicting medications for pain relief. There is a great need to educate people on the dangers of this route and the potential benefits of interventional procedures and modalities for pain relief. By creating an educational tool backed by evidence-based information, patients can be empowered to make the best choices for their health.

Type 2 Diabetes - A Change For A Better Life, Hilary Greene

MSN Capstone Projects

Cardiovascular disease has been known to be the leading cause of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. With diabetes on the rise in the United States, it is important to assess changes in these patients to decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease or a major cardiovascular event such as a myocardial infarction, stroke, or death. If able to address healthy alternatives to patients to reduce the risks of major cardiovascular events such as a myocardial infarction or stroke, it could potentially save many lives. As a nurse educator, it is important to provide patients with the education they …

Effects Of Palliative Care On Nurses’ Knowledge And Attitudes, Daniel Kerr

MSN Capstone Projects

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic, progressive disease that affects 6 million Americans (Ng & Wong, 2017). During the course of the disease, patients have worsening symptoms and need increasing levels of care from both medical staff and home caregivers. Often, these caregivers are family members or friends who spend a significant amount of their free time assisting the patient, leading to significant stress and burden on the caregivers. Recent changes in recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA) include Palliative Care (PC) consultation for patients diagnosed with advanced stage heart failure, but many physicians have not included a PC …

Treatment Of Acute Bronchitis In Active Duty Military Members Benchmark Project, Nicole Williams

MSN Capstone Projects

Antibiotic resistant infections are a growing problem in the United States and the world. The main cause of this is antibiotic prescriptions, which can not only cause antibiotic resistance but adverse events. Decreasing the amount of antibiotics prescribed for inappropriate conditions can help to decrease the rates of antibiotic resistant infections and the problems these infections can cause. One illness that is treated frequently with antibiotics, against recommendations, is acute bronchitis. Acute bronchitis is a self-limiting viral infection, characterized by cough. By decreasing the number of providers who are prescribing antibiotics for acute bronchitis, the clinic can help to prevent …

Risk Of Atrial Fibrillation And Stroke After Bariatric Surgery In Patients With Morbid Obesity With Or Without Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Ahmed Dalmar, Maharaj Singh, Zoe Heis, Tabitha L. Cumpian, Cheryl Ceretto, M. Eyman Mortada, Atul Bhatia, Imran Niazi, Thomas Y. Chua, Jasbir Sra, Arshad Jahangir

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background and Purpose:

Weight loss in morbidly obese patients reduces atrial fibrillation (AF); however, it is unknown whether similar benefits are maintained in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We sought to determine whether incident AF and stroke rates are affected by OSA after weight loss and to identify predictors of AF and stroke.

Methods:

Differences in laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding–induced weight loss on incident AF and stroke events in those with and without OSA in the entire and in propensity-matched cohorts were determined longitudinally, and independent predictors of AF and stroke were identified.

Results:

Of 827 morbidly obese patients …

Implementation Of The Centor Score In The Assessment Of Pharyngitis In An Atypical Setting During A Pandemic, Holly C. Wright

Nursing DNP Projects

Pharyngitis is a self-limited illness. Antibiotics are indicated if group A streptococcus (GAS) is present, yet 60% of patients receive a prescription. Implementation of the Centor Score at the time of triage can lead to appropriate collection of a rapid strep test (RST). Centor Scores were completed on adult patients presenting for an RST during the COVID-19 pandemic at a drive-up testing site. All five patients who had an RST had a negative GAS result and did not receive an antibiotic. A Centor Score completed at the time of nursing triage can provide guidance related to antibiotic prescribing for pharyngitis.

Spirituality And Opioid Addiction Recovery, Carol A. Ammon, Msn, Mba, Dnp, Stacey Boyer, Psyd, Stephen Dutton, Mdiv, Pd, Courtney Slater, Phd

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is chronic relapsing disease and requires intense rehabilitation. A link between spirituality and addiction recovery. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether addressing spiritual concerns among hospitalized patients with OUD warrants a specific intervention to assist patients with their unique spiritual needs.

Methods: This qualitative-only study recruited fourteen eligible participants and resulted in five qualitative interviews. The FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool© was used to conduct the interviews and all interviews were coded for theme development.

Results: The results of this study demonstrated that spirituality as a phenomenon in addiction recovery can be determined …

Post Operative Handoff Tool Benchmark Project, Savannah E. Vinson

MSN Capstone Projects

According to a sentinel event statement issued by The Joint Commission in 2017, inadequate hand-off communication is responsible for many adverse-events, including sentinel events in healthcare. A study released in 2016 estimated that communication failures in U.S. hospitals and medical practices were responsible at least in part for 30 percent of all malpractice claims, resulting in 1,744 deaths and $1.7 billion in malpractice costs over five years(The Joint Commission [TJC], 2017). Successful handoff communication has the potential to substantially improve patient safety when leadership displays their commitment to successful handoff, when handoff is standardized and done face-to-face between healthcare providers, …

Administrative Interventions To Increase New Graduate Nurse Retention, Adam Ruff

MSN Capstone Projects

Topic: Administrative Interventions to Increase New Graduate Nurse Retention

PICOT Question: In acute care units (P), how do employee engagement interventions from nursing administration (I) compared to no employee engagement interventions (C) affect new nurse turnover (O) within 3 months of hire (T)?

Rationale: New nurse retention and turnover is arguably the most significant factor affecting health administrators on a regular basis. This issue becomes even more pertinent as it is estimated that up to 40% of the nursing workforce is expected to retire within the next decade with new nurses becoming the best option to replace them. Administrative nursing …

A Descriptive Correlational Study Of Factors Reported To Negatively Impact Memory In Women Who Have Received Treatment For Breast Cancer In Relation To Covid-19, Heather Reens

Theses & Dissertations

Introduction

Cognitive impairments associated with cancer and cancer treatment are side effects that have and continue to elude the oncology world. Cognitive impairments related to chemotherapy are also known as “chemo-brain” or “chemo-fog” and encompasses deficits in cognitive domains that include memory, verbal fluency, attention, and concentration, and one’s ability to recall information. Patients who experience cognitive impairments during and after cancer treatments, chemotherapy in particular, are often afflicted with impaired executive functioning, problems with memory and recall, loss of control and decreased sense of self, increased stress and depression, role conflicts when returning to work, and impaired quality of …

Perceptions Of Infusion Pump Alarms Among Experienced Nurses Versus Novice Nurses, Priyanka Panta

Merge

In nursing, infusion pumps are used daily to provide critical medications, fluids, and nutrition to patients. The alarm signals on these pumps can alert nurses to potential issues with the infusion, but some of these alarms are not clinically significant. In this study, the student researcher determined whether there was a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of infusion pump alarms among experienced and novice nurses. The student researcher hypothesized the novice nurses would have a higher perception of infusion pump alarms. The student researcher had the education department at a rural hospital in the southeastern United States distribute an …

Compliance In Fall Prevention In Dementia Vs Non-Dementia Nursing Home Units, Garima Shrestha

Merge

The student nurse researcher performed a research study to determine if there was a difference in the compliance of fall prevention interventions between dementia and non-dementia nursing home units. The student nurse researcher hypothesized the dementia nursing home units would be more compliant with fall prevention interventions than the non-dementia nursing home units. In contrast, the null hypothesis stated there would be no statistically significant difference in the compliance of fall prevention interventions between the dementia and the non-dementia nursing home units. The Fall Prevention Intervention Checklist was used to assess environmental fall hazards in occupied resident rooms. Of the …

The Detection And Prevention Of Weight Loss Attributed To Covid-19 Social Restrictions Within Long-Term Care Residents, Grace Gohman, Caitlin Williams, Alexander Lucken

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

No abstract provided.

Emergency Department Staffing And Overcrowding, Royce Hudgins

MSN Capstone Projects

Overcrowding in the emergency room (ER) is a decades old problem that can be caused by factors both internal and external to the (ER). The ripple effects from this problem can be seen throughout the hospital.

This change project seeks to identify and find solutions to patient flow problems that occur in the emergency room (ER) in order to: decrease patient wait times, reduce ER overcrowding, reduce costs, and to increase patient satisfaction and overall outcomes.

Team-Based Learning Compared To Lecture-Based Learning Among Pharmacology Students, Tammie C. Petersen

MSN Capstone Projects

This paper seeks to discuss the evidence-based practice change project that implements team-based learning over lecture-based learning in pharmacology courses at Austin Community College. Three unit exams were administered in two sections of pharmacology, one TBL and one LBL course. The means for each unit exam for each section were determined and compared to determine the effectiveness of TBL on exam scores. Effectiveness were determined to be a 5% increase in mean unit exam scores. The results conclude the TBL is effective on improving exam scores in pharmacology community college students.

Suicide Mortality Of Emergency Department Patients, Briony Marie Dubose Mhi, Rn, Lss, Bb

Dissertations

Purpose The purpose of this retrospective comparative study is to describe relationships among biological, psychological, sociocultural factors and emergency department (ED) care among discharged ED patients and describe the association of these variables with subsequent suicide mortality.

Rationale Identifying patients who are most at risk of suicide mortality post ED discharge can focus resources, refine interventions, and prevent suicide. Additionally, recognizing patterns of ED care including ordering of a psychiatric evaluation and disposition status can provide data for potential practice changes.

Background Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and has been since 2008. Suicide …

Innovations In U.S. Health Care Delivery To Reduce Disparities In Maternal Mortality Among African American And American Indian/Alaskan Native Women, Swapna Reddy, Nina Patel, Mary Saxon, Nina Amin, Rizwana Biviji

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Despite spending more on health care than any other country, the United States has the worst maternal mortality rate among all developed nations. African American and American Indian/Alaskan Native women have the worst outcomes by race, representing a stark health disparity within the country. Contributing factors disproportionately experienced by these minority populations include challenges of access to consistent and high-quality prenatal care, prevalence of underlying conditions, toxic stress due to systemic racism, and unconscious bias in health care. While many of these factors lie upstream in the lives of women, and seemingly beyond the scope of the clinical walls, the …

Utilizing Heart Failure Education Materials To Reduce Hospital Readmissions, Miranda P. Peterson

MSN Capstone Projects

With the initiation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, hospitals are heavily penalized for heart failure patients who re-present to the hospital within 30-days for any cause. Patients also prefer to stay out of the hospital so they do not miss important life events and can live happily and comfortably in their own environments. Therefore, there has been a push to implement change projects to reduce hospital readmissions.

This project serves to implement the usage of the Heart Care Tool Kit, which is an educational aid to assist nurses in delivering proper heart failure …

Implementing The Quality Of Care Partnership To Reduce The Cost Of Screenings For Sexually Transmitted Infections On A Southeastern College Campus, Amy Guidera

DNP Projects

College students are a priority preventative healthcare population that can engage in high risk behaviors which may concurrently increase the potential for unsafe sexual practices, including contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Early education, screening, treatment, and partner notification are important interventions for breaking the chain of transmission and recurrence in relation to preventing poor health outcomes and mitigating college dropout rates. The aim of this quality improvement project was to determine if the reduction in STI screening costs for college students (aged 18-30 years old) would increase the amount of STI screenings conducted at a university health center over the …

Examining Health Disparities Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Queer/Questioning Adults In Davidson County, Tennessee, Samantha Anticuar

DNP Projects

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals experience increased risks for health disparities and discrimination compared to non-LGBTQ individuals, yet there is limited research in southern populations. Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to examine if LGBTQ individuals had increased health disparities compared to non-LGBTQ individuals in Davidson County, Tennessee (TN). Methods: A quasi-experimental design (N = 1,704) used the 2019 Nashville Community Health and Well-being Survey for analysis. Results: Findings suggested LGBTQ individuals had increased odds of not having health insurance (p = .009, adjusted odds: 6.84), poor mental health (p …

Aristotle's Virtue Ethics And The Nurse's Role, Abigail Chu, Michael S. Jones

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Theoretical Proposal

Re-Engineered Hospital Discharge Program (Red), Mackenzie Bammer, Hayley Carlson, Morgan Roberts, Moriah Wittenberg

Celebration of Research

Between September 2020 and November 2020, an extensive literature review was done to determine how discharge education among medical-surgical patients can be improved. Results showed that there should be an introduction of discharge education from the start of a patient’s admission. Further, there needs to be greater understanding of specific roles within discharge and utilization of discharge material so as to improve patient satisfaction and self- perceived readiness for discharge. All efforts need to be placed to ensure that patients receive the best quality care and are not readmitted within 30 days of discharge.