Nursing Commons^™

Evaluating Telehealth As A Means Of Communicating With Living Donors And Its Effect On Quality Of Care, Ashley Anne Hamby Rn Msn

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Despite the advantages of living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT), there are barriers that potential donors face that make living donation less appealing. Research supports the use of telehealth as an effective method of enhancing access to care and building efficiencies.

Aims/Objectives: To evaluate access to care, effectiveness, financial impact, and experience after implementing telehealth as a means of communicating with living donors.

Methods: Utilizing a pretest-posttest design, an analysis was performed among medically cleared donors evaluated in-person between January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 (Control Group; N=64) and donors evaluated via telehealth (Zoom®) between January 1, 2021 to …

Implicit Bias Training: Improving Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Maternal Care, Marilyn Mapp

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities persist in the United States leading to adverse maternal outcomes. Nationally, the maternal mortality rates in black women are two to three times higher than white women. Implementing implicit bias training, recommended by the Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health, is a key intervention that may help to reduce these disparities.

Objectives: This quasi-experimental/mixed methods project evaluated the effectiveness of training on implicit bias to increase awareness of implicit bias among a convenience sample of registered nurses in labor and delivery and postpartum units at two community hospitals.

Methods: Quantitative data was analyzed with …

Novel Tool Used For Measuring Team Resilience Among Caregivers In A Hospital Setting: Resilient Team Traits Identified, Tiara Benson, Ma Fe Chase, Amanda Miles

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

A Community Educational Intervention To Improve Firearm Safety Behavior In Families, Elizabeth G. Choma Msn, Rn, Cpnp-Pc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Every day in America children, are injured or killed from the accidental shooting of firearms. Additionally, few households with children report storing all guns unloaded and locked up. Recent evidence supports education on safe firearm storage as an effective intervention in promoting firearm safety in families with children. However, Pediatric healthcare providers often do not have enough time for firearm education during well visits.

Objective: This Quality Improvement (QI) project aimed to use an educational intervention with statistics on firearms in children and implemented the Asking Saves Kids (ASK) campaign to assess and improve firearm safety behaviors in families …

A Certified Nurse Program: Mitigating Barriers To Certification, Kymberlee Cox Msn, Rn, Npd-Bc, Pccn-K

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Certification recognizes a nurse's specialized knowledge, skill, and expertise. It has been linked to positive patient, nurse, and organizational outcomes. Recognizing these advantages, the nursing department set a goal to increase certification rates. However, perceived barriers to certification existed, and rates remained unchanged. A program was needed to overcome these obstacles.

Aims/Objectives: To develop and evaluate a Certified Nurse Program that addresses the perceived barriers to certification by proactively supporting, preparing, and recognizing nurses who pursue and maintain a specialty certification.

Methodology: A 200-bed Maryland suburban hospital adopted the program. Initiatives for certification support, preparation, and recognition were implemented. …

A Telehealth Blood Pressure Education Program On Hypertension Knowledge, Selfcare, And Behavior, Cheynnie N. Burnett Msn, Aprn, Fnp-C

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Hypertension poses a significant risk for morbidity and mortality. Regular blood pressure monitoring, medication compliance, and/or lifestyle modifications have shown to improve control. Digital communication in healthcare, such as telemedicine provides patients and primary care offices an opportunity to improve access to care and education.

Objectives: This Quality Improvement (QI) Project aimed to answer the question: In adult patients with a diagnosis of hypertension, what is the effectiveness of implementing an evidence- based telehealth blood pressure management program in a primary health care setting, when compared to baseline, on blood pressure knowledge, management, and self-care over a nine- week …

The Impact Of Mentorship On Nurses’ Level Of Self-Efficacy And Motivation To Pursue Board Leadership Positions, Amy K. Mccarthy Msn, Rnc-Mnn, Ne-Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Nurses comprise the largest component of the healthcare workforce and possess a unique understanding of healthcare operations and patient care. On average, the proportion of nurses serving on hospital boards range from 2 to 6%, with the proportion of physicians averaging 20%. Over the last decade, much attention has been placed on emphasizing the importance of a nurse’s presence on boards. Despite these initiatives, nurses continue to display an overall hesitancy towards board service.

Objectives: The aim of this project was to implement an evidence-based mentorship program to address barriers to board leadership and increase overall self-efficacy and motivation …

Implementation Of A Standardized Handoff Tool For The Transition Of Care Of Adult Liver Transplant Patients, Suzanne Robertazzi Msn, Anp-Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The transfer of care of the adult liver transplant patient from the inpatient to the outpatient setting has increased in complexity and has the potential to lead to errors and adverse events.

Objective: This pre-post design quality improvement project implemented a hand-off communication tool to improve adult liver transplant patient outcomes when transitioning from the inpatient to outpatient setting.

Methods: The hand-off tool was based on Illness severity, Patient summary, Action list, Situation awareness, and Synthesis (I-PASS). An EMR chart review was completed on discharged liver transplant patients 3 months (N=28) prior and 4 months (N=36) after I-PASS implementation. …

A Whole-Food Plant Based Diet And Its Effects On Cardiovascular Disease, Meredith A. Childress

MSN Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper and benchmark study is to present evidenced-based data regarding the impact diet choices have on heart disease and how adherence to a whole food plant based (WFPB) diet compared to a Western diet affects cardiac disease. The PICOT question being asked for this change project is as follows: In adults with history of cardiac disease (P), how does adherence to a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diet (I) compared to the Western diet (C) impact outcomes associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) (O) over three months (T)? A search of evidenced-based literature was conducted to determine the …

Community Isolation Project, Natalie M. Danhof, Lydia Santucci, Abigail Dempsey, Nathaniel Navarro, Ivy Mills, Samantha Thompson

Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects

Introduction

The authors of this summary are nursing students at Seattle Pacific University, and the project goal is focused on understanding feelings of isolation in elderly communities and whether fostering social activities, such as Bingo, would improve social interaction between residents in this community.

For the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered various aspects of social interaction. From masking to social distancing, societal norms and expectations evolved in a manner that promoted isolation and minimal interaction to inhibit the spread of Covid infection between individuals. Of the general populace, the most vulnerable and at risk for infection are …

The Impact Of Nutrition Literacy And Neighborhood On Diet Quality In The Mexican Origin Population, Sylvia Pena

Dissertations (1934 -)

Introduction: Diet quality is a critical component in achieving optimal health outcomes. A poor diet can lead to various health complications including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Hispanic individuals have been found to have higher rates of obesity; therefore, it is critical that variables impacting diet quality be examined in this population. Available literature concerning nutrition literacy, neighborhood and diet quality have not been specific to subgroups of the Hispanic population, therefore, identifying how these factors influence the Mexican origin population is needed. The aim of this dissertation was to better understand the impact of nutrition literacy and neighborhood on …

The Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine And Parental Hesitancy: The World’S Unspoken Pandemic, Kayla James

Senior Honors Theses

The Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine (MMR) is a proven necessity for the prevention of measles, mumps, and rubella, which possess severe and possibly life-threatening complications. However, the means in which these vaccines are produced, mandated, or scheduled raise certain concerns within the medical and pharmaceutical consumer community. In fact, there are various communities around the globe that willfully choose to refuse the MMR vaccine, along with many other pediatric vaccinations, resulting in diminished vaccination rates and risk of possible outbreak of any of these three diseases. With this impending threat on the rise, it is necessary to engage in research to best …

The Anxiolytic Effects Of Aromatherapy On Preprocedural Anxiety: An Integrated Review, Rebekah Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Anxiety before procedures can negatively impact patients by increasing cortisol levels which delays wound healing and increases infection risk, increasing pain and sedation medication needs, and increasing hospitalization time. This review was conducted to find how inhaled essential oils affect pre-procedural anxiety of adults in acute care settings. Nine databases and some gray literature were searched within the past ten years, and documented using the PRISMA flow chart. Ten articles fitting the inclusion criteria were retrieved. Nine of the articles found a significant difference between the aromatherapy group and control group and pre- and post- intervention anxiety scores, and none …

Exploring Relationships Between Depression Self-Stigma And Trust In Primary Care Provider On Willingness To Seek Help, Tana Karenke

Dissertations (1934 -)

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and/or loss of interest that effects an individual’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Depression can diminish one’s social functioning, interpersonal relationships, personal care, and work productivity. Despite the availability of various treatments for depression, roughly 34% of people suffering from depression symptoms do not seek treatment. Significant barriers for seeking help for depression symptoms include the stigma of mental illness and a lack of trust in healthcare providers; however, there is a paucity of research exploring the relationship between mental illness stigma and the role of trust in …

Genome-Wide Identification, Expression Pattern And Sequence Variation Analysis Of Snrk Family Genes In Barley, Jiangyan Xiong, Danyi Chen, Tingting Su, Qiufang Shen, Dezhi Wu, Guoping Zhang

Publications

Sucrose non-fermenting 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase (SnRK) is a large family of protein kinases that play a significant role in plant stress responses. Although intensive studies have been conducted on SnRK members in some crops, little is known about the SnRK in barley. Using phylogenetic and conserved motif analyses, we discovered 46 SnRK members scattered across barley's 7 chromosomes and classified them into 3 sub-families. The gene structures of HvSnRKs showed the divergence among three subfamilies. Gene duplication and synteny analyses on the genomes of barley and rice revealed the evolutionary features of HvSnRKs. The promoter regions of HvSnRK family …

Remote Vascular Interventional Surgery Robotics: A Literature Review, Yang Zhao, Ziyang Mei, Xiaoxiao Luo, Jingsong Mao, Qingliang Zhao, Gang Liu, Dezhi Wu

Publications

Vascular interventional doctors are exposed to radiation hazards during surgery and endure high work intensity. Remote vascular interventional surgery robotics is a hot research field, in which researchers aim to not only protect the health of interventional doctors, but to also improve surgical accuracy and efficiency. However, the current vascular interventional robots have numerous shortcomings, such as poor haptic feedback, few compatible surgeries and instruments, and cumbersome maintenance and operational procedures. Nevertheless, vascular interventional surgery combined with robotics provides more cutting-edge directions, such as Internet remote surgery combined with 5G network technology and the application of artificial intelligence in surgical …

2022 Spring Newsletter, Morehead State University. Nursing Department.

Nursing Department Publications Archive

2022 Spring Newsletter of the Department of Nursing at Morehead State University.

Improving Use Of The Stop And Watch Tool (Interact) To Decrease Rehospitalization Of Nursing Home Residents, Sebrena Chapman-Fitzsimmons

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The purpose of this clinical quality improvement project was to determine if using the Stop and Watch tool (a tool used to identify change in resident condition) would improve communication between stakeholders and nurses, resulting in fewer re-hospitalizations. The evidence-based literature behind the problem of re-hospitalization shows that improving communication among stakeholders can positively affect long term care residents’ quality of life and decrease events that could result in re-hospitalizations.

The design for this study includes process development on the use of the Stop and Watch tool (a communication component of the Intervention to Reduce Acute Care Transfers tool [INTERACT …

The Relationship Of Child Health And Parenting Stress To Child Neurocognitive Development, Nancy Alise Farrell

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Problem. Although the United States rates high in economic resources, the neurocognitive development (NCD) of children falls behind many other developed nations. Levels of parenting stress may be linked to sociodemographic factors such as the high incidence of poverty in children or health disparities in children, which in turn may affect NCD in children. Using the data from an observational, longitudinal cohort study of a diverse population could provide information related to parenting stress, child health, and related factors to guide and support interventions with families and policies to improve child NCD. Aims. The overall aim of this study was …

Nonlinear Association Of Nurse Staffing And Readmissions Uncovered In Machine Learning Analysis, Olga Yakusheva, James Bang, Ronda G. Hughes, Kathleen L. Bobay, Linda L. Costa, Marianne E. Weiss

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: Several studies of nurse staffing and patient outcomes found a curvilinear or U-shaped relationship, with benefits from additional nurse staffing diminishing or reversing at high staffing levels. This study examined potential diminishing returns to nurse staffing and the existence of a "tipping point" or the level of staffing after which higher nurse staffing no longer improves and may worsen readmissions.

Data Sources/Study Setting: The Readiness Evaluation And Discharge Interventions (READI) study database of over 130,000 adult (18+) inpatient discharges from 62 medical, surgical, and medical-surgical (noncritical care) units from 31 United States (US) hospitals during October 2014-March 2017.

Study …

The Effect Of Provider-Patient Racial Concordance On Student Health Services, Sophia B. Gilliam

Senior Theses

Objective: This research aimed to evaluate the effect of provider-patient racial concordance on perceived care received by University of South Carolina students at Student Health Services.

Methods: A total of 173 students at the University of South Carolina Columbia campus who have received care from Student Health Services within the past 2 years participated in the study. Participants were questioned about their experience with Student Health Services using an adaptation of the CAHPS® Clinician & Group Survey Version 3.0. Independent samples t-tests and descriptive analyses were used for comparisons between the 25 non-white respondents and a randomly selected proportionate group …

Improving Mental Health Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Increasing Resilience In Nursing School, Hannah Hilliard

Senior Honors Theses

Nursing students face a unique set of obstacles during their time in school. Beyond the normal stressors of college life, they are required to spend several hours in the hospital per week, study for exams, and complete high acuity simulations, and they struggle with coping with these new demands. Undergraduate nursing students need to be supported in their mental health and coping strategies to improve their resilience in nursing school and, hence, their ability to function as a nurse in the future. This study has ascertained what students believe is helpful in supporting their mental health while in nursing school. …

Communicating Comfort In Crisis: A Literature Review On Overcoming The Emergency Room Environment To Foster The Nurse-Patient Relationship, Faith G. Davenport

Senior Honors Theses

The average emergency room patient is not receiving the compassionate nurse-patient communication that patients experience on other hospital floors. Fewer positive nurse-patient interactions prompt patients to state that they feel uncomforted and dissatisfied on hospital exit surveys, inciting hospital management to investigate how to reverse this trend to retain their federal funding. Emergency room nurses cite multiple barriers inherent in their work environment that prevent them from building rapport with their patients, including a layout not conducive to private conversations, strict time constraints, and a fluctuating workload. Working for a prolonged period under these conditions is driving many nurses to …

Sleep Disruptions Within The Hospital, Faith Walls

Senior Honors Theses

The circadian rhythm is a complex and interwoven system within each human being that creates an internal clock each day. However, patients in all hospital settings continue to have their sleep disrupted by many factors. Seep being disrupted in the hospital patients can develop serious complications. To this day, the issues causing have not been adequately assessed and therapeutically intervened with consistency within nursing practice. Using the Whittemore and Knalf Framework, this integrative review will examine the literature on aspects of inpatient care that contribute to circadian disruptions within hospitals. By doing so, the research can be built upon with …

Effectivenessofnursingguidelinesonnursesperformanceregardinghighalertmedications, Sara Sayed Abdalla

Nursing

No abstract provided.

Strategies To Improve Communication In Healthcare: An Integrative Review, Tracy Lynn Macdonald

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this integrative review is to research, analyze, critique, and synthesize current literature to determine current practice of communication within healthcare. Communication errors continue to have a negative impact on patient outcomes, so this literature review will consider current strategies to improve communication, and thus improve patient outcomes. Several themes were identified as strategies to improve communication. Although there is abundant research on the topic of communication in healthcare, there is still a need for further adoption and implementation of various communication strategies, as well as a need for further evaluation to determine if these strategies do improve …

Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Non-Pharmacological Pain Interventions On Patient Reported Pain Scores And Opioid Use In Hospitalized Adult Patients, Tammy Jane Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this integrative review is to research, critique, and synthesize current literature to ascertain the effectiveness of nonpharmacological pain management interventions on hospitalized patient reported pain scores and the use of opioids. Patients report pain while hospitalized for a variety of reasons. In order to become an active participant in their recovery, patients must have their pain adequately controlled. The use of opioids for main management may be required but alternatives exist. These alternatives do not have the same risk factors as opioid pain management. Nonpharmacological interventions included music, virtual reality, massage, guided imagery/hypnosis, and psychological interventions. All …

Electronic Patient Portals: Promotion Of Access By Healthcare Workers Increases Patient Engagement, Dena Todd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The use of technologies within healthcare settings has become an essential part of patient care. The Health Information for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2010 contained requirements for healthcare providers to ensure the Meaningful Use (MU) of electronic health records. More specifically, electronic patient portal (EPP) systems were a part of this legislation since healthcare organizations needed to demonstrate they were providing patients with access to their personal health information. A major concern was that healthcare organizations not offering EPP access were at risk of losing federal funding. This integrative literature review explores strategies which can be deployed …

Does The Use Of Home-Based Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices In Adults With Diabetes Mellitus Improve Hemoglobin A1c Levels? An Integrative Review, Ophelia Dionne Gelispie Ansari

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The prevalence of diabetes continues to rise, but patients’ ability to obtain and maintain glycemic control remains a challenge. In 2017, complications from diabetes resulted in over $300 billion expenditures in lost productivity and medical costs. The nation’s approach to addressing this problem starts with acknowledging the benefits that continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) as an adjunct intervention could change the trajectory of both diabetic care outcomes and the national expenditures associated with poor glycemic control, which leads to the destruction of other cells such as those found in the heart, eyes, and kidneys. Moreover, CGM use has been associated with …

Anxiety In Healthcare Actors Post Difficult Topic Healthcare Simulation Based Learning Activity, Sarah Elizabeth Pearce

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Difficult topic healthcare simulation-based learning activities help to prepare healthcare profession students in a manner which is consistent with the experiences they will face in their careers. However, while these types of simulation-based learning activities need to be simulated, little to no research has been conducted regarding the topic of the psychological effect on standardized patients (SP) who participate in these activities within simulation-based learning experiences. The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative examination, of the anxiety related effects of difficult topic simulation-based learning activities on standardized patients. This study utilized an experimental quantitative post-test only control …