Nursing Commons^™

The Effects Of Perinatal Nutrition In The Prevention Of Postpartum Depression, Olivia Glasgow

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the exponential rise in reported cases of postpartum depression, medical workers within the psychiatric and research communities seek to discover new methods to prevent its onset. The purpose of this study is to compile the available research that has been conducted to investigate the relationship between perinatal nutrition and the prevention of postpartum depression. Nineteen peer-reviewed articles were gathered from medical databases based on their ability to report evidence on the increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D and their prophylactic therapy against postpartum depression. Overall, many articles suggest a positive association as individuals’ mental health screenings …

The Effectiveness Of A Webinar To Improve Icu Nurses’ Competency In Palliative Care, Justine Kirschner

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing DNP Capstone Projects

Patients with serious illness lack access to quality patient-centered care despite the growth in palliative care awareness and services. Palliative care is an interdisciplinary care system intended to optimize the quality of life of patients with serious, life-limiting illness and their families. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are facing critical illnesses and can benefit from palliative care integration into their care. This DNP quality improvement (QI) project, grounded in Benner’s Novice to Expert nursing theory, aimed to increase ICU nurse competency in palliative care from novice to competent through a continuing education webinar. The study analyzed nurses’ …

Nurse Practitioner-Led Heart Failure Education Program, Ruairi Fox

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing DNP Capstone Projects

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive disease that has a global burden on the healthcare system and on patient’s lives. HF patients who experience a hospital admission are at a greater risk of being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, impacting healthcare spending costs and patient quality of life. Self-care activities by patients, such as monitoring weight and making lifestyle changes, are the hallmark of outpatient care, and is shown throughout the literature to reduce readmissions and impact patient quality of life. Unfortunately, many patients are either unaware of proper self-care management techniques or find them hard to follow. …

The Impact Of Psychological Interventions Given To Icu Patients To Help With Pain Management, Kelly Liu

Nursing | Senior Theses

Pain management among the critically ill population is a significant issue in the intensive care setting. Whether the pain is acute or chronic, nurses tend to be the first-hand responders to help with pain management in the intensive care unit (ICU). With barriers ranging from patients’ inability to verbalize pain to nurses’ experience with obstacles to assessment such as sedation, confusion, or other concerns, pain management is a serious issue. Although pharmacological interventions such as opioids and analgesics help with pain control, in this thesis, we will focus on the impact of nonpharmacological and psychological nursing interventions and how it …

Evidence-Based Practice Guideline Development: Selection Of Local Anesthetics And The Additive Dexamethasone In Brachial Plexus Blocks, Alexandra Mcguire

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Brachial plexus blocks (BPB) are a type of regional anesthesia that inhibits the sensory and motor function of the upper extremity. The efficacy of a BPB depends on the type and dose of local anesthetics (LA), as well as the use of any additive agent. The selection of LA depends on the type, concentration, and volume of LA. Certain additives, such as dexamethasone, when added to BPB, were shown to increase motor and sensory block duration.

A chart audit conducted by the pharmacy and anesthesia departments revealed a significant variability of clinical practice in the use of LA and additives …

Increasing Adherence Of Chg Bathing: An Evidence-Based Practice Quality Improvement Project, Melissa Benedetto

DNP Projects

Introduction

Patients admitted to hospitals are at risk for developing Healthcare-acquired Infections (HAIs). Evidence suggests that these infections, including Central Line Associated Infections (CLABSIs), increase the cost of patient care and have a negative impact on patient outcomes. Daily chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing has been identified to help decrease HAIs in the hospital for patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), those with Multi-drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs), and/or patients with a Central Venous Catheter (CVC).

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to implement an intervention to assess and improve CHG bathing adherence for hospitalized patients. Patients targeted include those at …

Nursing Students’ Cultural Awareness And High-Fidelity Simulation Skills, Shorok Hamed M Alahmedi

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Cultural awareness is learning to be self-aware of other cultures and even an individual’s own culture. Nursing students learn about influences of values and beliefs, and the impacts of culture as they consider how to care for patients of other cultures. However, as students are learning cultural awareness for patient care they may struggle with some of their own cultural values and beliefs that may affect them in ways that they are not aware. This descriptive correlational study involved two research questions that examined undergraduate nursing students’ (n = 51) cultural awareness, and the association between undergraduate nursing students’ cultural …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lived Experience Of Students Who Have Failed A Nursing Course: Try Again Or Move On?, Deborah K. Tonelli

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of students after failing a nursing course, resulting in the students either sitting out a semester prior to repeating the course or making the decision not to return to a program at all. The central research question for this study was “what are the lived experiences of students who fail a nursing course?” This study retrospectively examined the failure of nursing students to better understand how they processed the event, gained meaning from the experience, and found supportive measures that were useful in moving forward to the …

Resiliency In Nursing: An Integrative Review, Valerie Yvonne Moke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nurses have been placed under tremendous pressure throughout their careers and the culmination of this pressure was the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses had to remain stoic despite longer hours, heavier workloads, lack of PPE and the fear of becoming infected or infecting their families. A review of the current literature was accessed to see how nurses built their stamina to withstand those pressures and create interventions to improve patient outcomes. The research was used to evaluate ways to improve nurse retention, reduce nursing shortages, and improve job satisfaction for those nurses and future nurses. The evidence showed that nurses with support, …

Increasing Adherence To Psychotherapy Treatment In Adult Mental Health Patients Through The Use Of Tele-Behavioral Services: An Integrative Review, Almaz Assefaw

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Telebehavioral therapy has been developing in recent years as a viable alternative to in-person provider treatment. This was due, in part, to the recent COVID-19 pandemic necessitating rapid and widespread adoption of remote care services in general. Before this event, and despite years of development in telemental and telebehavioral technology, the U.S. rate of adoption of such services had been low. As psychotherapy is an effective way to treat mental health issues with or without the use of psychotropic drugs, ways to increase patient adherence to psychotherapy must be studied to provide high-quality mental health outcomes. One measure that has …

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Consultation And Education For Adolescents And Young Adults, Maryrose Chinedu Obidiaku

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have drastically increased in recent years nationwide and worldwide. Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) ages 15-24 make up just over one-quarter of the sexually active populace. Additionally, AYAs account for half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted infections in the United States. Compared with older adults, sexually active adolescents aged 15–19 years and young adults aged 20–24 years are at higher risk of getting STDs. Lack of knowledge of risk and protective factors and high-risk sexual health practices and behaviors significantly contribute to AYAs' STD acquisition. Hence, increasing STDs awareness and prevention is essential in …

Impact Of Legislative Policy On Young Women’S Breast Cancer Health, Vane Omosa

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women in the United States (CDC, 2021). Approximately 12% of US women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime and 3% will die from invasive breast cancer (American Cancer Society, 2021). It is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women, with an estimated 42,000 women dying annually in the US. Young Black women have lower survival rates, higher risks of metastatic recurrence, and a higher mortality rate (Young Survival Coalition, 2021). This quality improvement project utilized retrospective data to examine the impact of the …

Shared Decision-Making Decision Aid Intervention To Improve Diabetes Medication Adherence, David Baba

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a shared-decision-making (SDM) intervention using a decision aid (DA) with medication adherence and social support of African American/Black adults with type 2 diabetes. Orem's self-care theory and self-care deficit theory were the guiding frameworks to conceptually define and explain medication adherence as a self-care demand and shared decision making and social support as conditioning factors for promoting medication adherence. The medication adherence and social support levels of 31 men and women with diabetes were measured before and three months after implementing the SDM intervention. Participants' hemoglobin A1c test results were …

An Exploration Of Covid-19 Impact On Healthcare Workers’ Mental Health In China, Jenny Yang

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background

In December 2019, the first confirmed human case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 occurred in Wuhan, China. By March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) had classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic due to the rapid spread of the virus to other countries. Many people have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in various aspects, especially front-line healthcare workers. Hospital working conditions are constantly changing to cope with the problems that arise from the pandemic. These problems can result in an unsafe patient-to-nurse ratio, understaffed healthcare workers in hospitals, equipment shortage, and increased …

Reducing Medication Non-Adherence With Improved Health Literacy Interventions: An Evidence-Based Practice Quality Improvement Project, Unity Wiles

DNP Projects

Introduction

Health literacy is the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate healthcare decisions and follow instructions for treatment. Patients with low health literacy have been predicted to have poor health outcomes. The inclusion of the single-item literacy tool into the admission process of this project involved the patient-centered-care characteristics of improved patient experience, lower health cost, improved clinical experience, and better outcomes.

Purpose

The National Action Plan to improve Health Literacy seeks to engage organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals, and families in a linked multi-sector effort to improve health literacy. Low …

Tiered Centralized Education In The Transition-To-Practice Program To Improve Nurses' Level Of Confidence On Nursing Sensitive Indicators Outcomes, Froiland Agana Ascaño

Doctoral Projects

A tiered Centralized Education in the Transition-to-Practice (TTP) Program is crucial to improving nurses' Level of Confidence on nursing-sensitive quality indicators. The benefits of a structured orientation program taught by trained content experts are evident in the literature. In addition, training transition-to-practice RNs during onboarding with training and assessment sessions throughout the orientation program to increase frequency provides skills acquisition. This study examined the impact of a house-wide education program on the nurses' confidence levels of CLABSI prevention, a measured nursing-sensitive quality indicator. This quasi-experimental quality improvement study measured the confidence and comfort levels of transition-to-practice RNs and identified that …

A Quantitative Job Satisfaction Comparison Between Certified Nursing Assistants (Cnas) Providing Care In Patients’ Homes Versus In Long-Term Care (Ltc) Facilities In The Omaha Metropolitan Area, Rusheena Shah

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

This capstone project looks at overall job satisfaction comparison between two groups of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) – CNAs who provide home care in patients’ homes and CNAs who provide care in Long-term Care (LTC) facilities in the Omaha Metropolitan Area. In this quantitative study, a survey was sent to CNAs who provide home care to patients and CNAs who provide patient care at different nursing home facilities in the Omaha area. Prior research has indicated that even though CNAs perform similar job duties irrespective of the work environment; they experience varying degrees of job satisfaction which could be attributed …

Nursing Students Attitudes Towards Patients' With Disabilities, Sonny Miles

Honors Theses

Attitudes have been found to impact the quality of healthcare provided to patients. Nursing students are individuals that will eventually care for and impact the livelihood of all individuals including those with disabilities. Measurements of attitudes among nursing students serves to evaluate the efficacy of nursing curriculums regarding disability and determines if revision is needed to better promote healthcare administration for the patient with a disability. This study utilized the Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (SADP) to measure attitudes among nursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program at a Southeastern University. The mean score from participants was 108.49 …

The Relationship Between Perceived Support And Post Traumatic Growth Among Nurses During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Anna Nieman

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Nurses continue to experience significant challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting them at risk of occupational stress, burnout, and turnover. The post-traumatic growth model focuses on growth and knowledge that comes from experiences of stress and trauma.

Aim: Identify post-traumatic growth (PTG) in a population of nurses affected by the COVID 19 pandemic.

Method: PTG was measured by the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, a 21-item questionnaire with five factors: relating to others, new possibilities, appreciation of life, personal strength, and spiritual change. Participants (n=22) responded on a 6-point Likert scale, 0 for no change and 5 for great degree …

An Overview Of Extended Ventilation Requirements Related To Comorbidities., Kaitlyn Horrell

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mechanical ventilation is a machine that that allows patients to breathe when they are unable to adequately do it themselves. This could be due to illness or injury. Ventilators pump oxygen into the lungs through a tube that travels through the trachea. When a patient is put on a ventilator, they will be placed in the Intensive Care Unit. While ventilation is typically a short-term intervention, some patients require ventilation for extended periods of time, and some may not come off the ventilator, eventually dying. Dozens of patients were ventilated in the ICU at Mercy, and most of them spent …

To Flash Or Not To Flash, Christy Overly

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing DNP Capstone Projects

In 2015, healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevalence survey found that there were an estimated 110,800 surgical site infections (SSIs) associated with inpatient surgeries in 2015. Consequently, instruments and implants sterilized by immediate use steam sterilization (IUSS) have been found to increase the patient’s risk for an SSIs. Due to these risks, the Joint Commission (TJC) determined that organizations should implement evidenced-based protocols to reduce IUSS use. A needs assessment revealed a gap in care in that the increasing SSI rates appeared to be correlated with the misuse of IUSS at the physician owned surgical hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This Doctor of …

Development Of A Nurse Practitioner Driven Program For Cardiology Providers To Increase Knowledge And Awareness Of Neurodevelopmental Assessment Needs In Children With Congenital Heart Defects, Michele Readman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Children diagnosed with congenital heart defects are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental delays. Timely referral of patients to a neurodevelopmental clinic for initial evaluation and referrals to support services can improve learning outcomes, provide early intervention for neurodevelopmental disorders, and mediate factors affecting low quality of life. Nationally, a substantial proportion of pediatric cardiologists are not referring children for neurodevelopmental evaluation. A review of patient referrals to a Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Clinic within an urban children’s hospital demonstrated an opportunity to improve provider awareness and knowledge of referral recommendations. Using the Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice to Promote Quality Care, an …

Nurses’ Attitudes Towards Hospitalized Older Adults In A Tertiary Care Setting In Ghana, Yakubu H. Yakubu, Abdul-Ganiyu Fuseini, Eleanor Holroyd

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Introduction: The increasing population of older adults and rapid increases in co- morbidities globally has necessitated the need for a healthcare delivery system that meets the multifaceted needs of the growing population of older adults. Concurrent with these rising complex health needs is the importance of positive, non-judgmental attitudes of health services providers towards older adults. Moreover, this is particu-larly important in the nursing profession, given nurses' significant and crucial roles in healthcare settings.

Aim: The study aimed to evaluate nurses’ attitudes towards older adults in a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Design: It employed a descriptive cross-sectional …

Child Mortality In Africa And South Asia: A Multidimensional Research And Policy Framework, Rachel Kimani, Samwel Gatimu

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Globally, progress has been made to address the diagnosis and management of common and avoidable acute illnesses that contribute to child mortality. Nevertheless, regions across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia continue to have the highest rates of mortality in children younger than 5 years, with most deaths occurring after discharge from health facilities, indicating a gap in care following hospitalisation.

Perinatal Care In Western Uganda: Prevalence And Factors Associated With Appropriate Care Among Women Attending Three District Hospitals, Mercy Muwema, Dan K. Kaye, Grace Edwards, Gorrette Nalwadda, Joanita Nangendo, Jaffer Okiring, Wilson Mwanja, Elizabeth N. Ekong, Joan N. Kalyango, Joaniter I. Nankabirwa

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Perinatal mortality remains high globally and remains an important indicator of the quality of a health care system. To reduce this mortality, it is important to provide the recommended care during the perinatal period. We assessed the prevalence and factors associated with appropriate perinatal care (antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum) in Bunyoro region, Uganda. Results from this study provide valuable information on the perinatal care services and highlight areas of improvement for better perinatal outcomes.

Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among postpartum mothers attending care at three district hospitals in Bunyoro. Following consent, a questionnaire was …

Health Disparities In Adults With Developmental And Intellectual Disabilities, Tulsi Patel

Nursing | Senior Theses

This paper reviews literature pertaining to the treatment of people with developmental disabilities. It will emphasize the inadequacies of health care in this population. The literature that will be discussed focuses on disparities in care via proxy, sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with disparities, assessing the needs of this population, the prevalence of disabilities in rural and urban settings, and the comparison of health disparities between adults with and without developmental disabilities.

For the purpose of this paper, a few terms will be defined. Developmental disabilities (DD) will be defined as “a group of conditions due to an impairment in …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Nurse Leadership Characteristics, Karen Fowler, Leslie K. Robbins

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Nurse leaders are vital for improving nursing efficiencies and the quality of care that they provide during a crisis and its aftermath. The value of positive leadership characteristics has never been more critical than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Functioning in a crisis mode required nurse leaders to demonstrate the necessary skills for clear communication and solid leadership. Therefore, nursing leadership, especially in emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, needs to be transformative in the sense that leaders are informational, motivating, and able to advance the organization, notwithstanding a global pandemic. Timely leadership research during and after COVID-19 is crucial …

Operating Room Nurses Sleep Health: An Evidence-Based Practice Sleep Health Education Project, Gabriella M. Castignoli

DNP Projects

Background: "Sleep Health" is a new Healthy People 2023 priority due to notable poor sleep health across the nation, with more than 25% of U.S. adults reporting insufficient sleep. Adequate sleep is necessary to work effectively and safely, with operating room (OR) nurses at high risk for inadequate sleep due to atypical work schedules.

Purpose: This project aims to establish the importance of sleep health for OR nurses at a community-based hospital and improve sleep health perception and sleep health through sleep health education with staff.

Methods: The IOWA model for evidence-based practice and quality improvement tools, Plan-Do-Study-Act, and the …

Increasing Opioid Abuse Screening In Primary Care Clinic: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project, Carlos Milla

DNP Projects

Introduction

To address substance abuse multiple organizations recommend increase drug abuse screening as part of routine health care. CAGE AID is five-question tool used to screen for drug and alcohol use, answering yes to two or more questions indicates further assessment is advised. Unfortunately, most primary care centers do not use screen for substance abuse using validated instrument tools such as the CAGE-AID tool.

Purpose

The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project is to implement the CAGE-AID Substance abuse screening tool by nurse practitioners students in a family clinic located in Bridgeport in order to increase to number of …

Implementation Of A Nurse Driven Palliative Care Consult: A Quality Improvement Project, Socnite Sebourne-Francis

DNP Projects

Background: Palliative care consult (PCC) is an approach that can improve the quality of life and symptom management of patients facing life-threatening illnesses. At a 20-bed medical oncology unit in Connecticut, patients with poor prognosis and worsening symptoms have high re-admission rates within 30 days of post-hospital discharge; yet healthcare providers fail to initiate PCC.

Purpose: This project hypothesizes how implementing a nurse-driven PCC on admission or hospital stays compared to the timing of a physician to a physician PCC improves a plan of care for oncology patients? Will it result in a decrease in 30-day re-admission rates? The …