Enhancing Staff Knowledge And Confidence In Depression Screening Using The Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Melkamzer Chari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression is a serious public health concern affecting over 280 million people globally and leading to significant morbidity and mortality if left undetected and untreated. At the local organization, leadership identified inconsistent depression screening as a practice problem among nursing staff. Thus, the purpose of this doctor in nursing practice (DNP) project was to determine if an educational intervention focused on depression, the importance of depression screening, and the use of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) increased knowledge and confidence among nursing staff working in a local organization. Fifteen participants volunteered to participate in the project. The average age was …

Staff Education To Improve Nurse Confidence In Managing Co-Occurring Conditions, Gloria Johnston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) staff education project addressed a lack of confidence and training for nursing staff who care for patients with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. The practice problem identified at the local project site was the inconsistent care of this patient population. Addressing this gap was essential because inadequate training can reduce care quality among patients with co-occurring conditions. The practice-focused question for this project was: In nursing staff caring for patients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, how does an evidence-based staff education program on integrated treatment approaches compare to standard …

Staff Education To Optimize Pain Management In Home Health Care, Marie Natacha Francis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This DNP project is a nurse-led quality improvement initiative that responds to the age-old issue of ineffective pain management in the home healthcare setting. The issue is the absence of standardization in staff education regarding pain assessment and intervention, leading to unfavorable patient outcomes and a reduced quality of life. The purpose of the project is to assess the efficacy of educational interventions delivered by nurses to enhance staff knowledge, confidence, and consistency in the management of pain procedures. The project question is: How effective are nurse-led educational interventions in improving staff knowledge and practices in pain assessment and management, …

Staff Education To Improve Nurses’ De-Escalation Skills In Substance Abuse Treatment Settings, Joy Atufunwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly 50% of patients in substance abuse treatment settings exhibit aggressive behaviors, placing staff and other patients at risk. In the absence of structured de-escalation training, clinicians frequently rely on physical restraints or pharmacologic interventions, which contribute to staff burnout, injury, and ethical concerns. The project implemented an evidence-based staff education program to improve nurses’ knowledge, confidence, and competence in managing aggression using nonviolent de-escalation strategies. The project question guiding this initiative was: Can education improve nurses’ de-escalation skills in a substance abuse treatment setting? Using an evidence-based practice (EBP) approach and the PICO framework, the project evaluated the impact …

Enhancing Staff Education On Antidepressant Side Effects For Adolescents At Discharge, Mingdi Gao

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) evidence-based staff education project aimed to improve the quality and consistency of discharge medication education for adolescents prescribed antidepressants. Adolescents are at increased risk for antidepressant-related adverse effects, including suicidal ideation, particularly during the early stages of treatment. The identified practice problem was the lack of consistent, developmentally appropriate, and culturally sensitive discharge teaching for adolescents and their families. This gap in practice contributes to poor adherence, preventable readmissions, and diminished safety outcomes. The project was guided by the PICO question: For adolescents discharged from inpatient or outpatient behavioral health care, how does a …

A Survey-Based Exploratory Study Of Factors Influencing Women's Intentions To Utilise Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis In The Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: Sociodemographic Characteristics, Hiv Risk Behaviours And Transactional Sex, Rosemary Kalenga, Gary Sharp, Anne M. Teitelman, Monde Makiwane, Larry D. Icard, John B. Jemmott

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND: South Africa has the third-highest adult prevalence rate globally, with women comprising 64% of cases. Despite the accessibility of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), its adoption among women, particularly young women, remains alarmingly low.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this initial investigation is to explore factors influencing the intentions of South African women to use PrEP, focusing on sociodemographic factors, HIV sexual risk behaviours and involvement in transactional sex.

DESIGN: The research utilised an exploratory design employing surveys.

METHODS: Surveys were conducted in 2015 with 64 women aged 19-49 residing in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The data were analysed …

Factors Associated With Immediate Postnatal Care In Lao People’S Democratic Republic: An Analysis Of The 2017 Lao People’S Democratic Republic Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Tressa Quayle, Jinyoung Kim, Jennifer Pharr, Rebecca Benfield

Nursing Faculty Research

Background: The World Health Organization recognizes that approximately half of all maternal deaths occur in the immediate postnatal period or 24 h after birth. Forty-seven percent of Lao women aged 15–49 who delivered a baby in the last two years received a postnatal health check in the frst two days after delivery. After leaving the presence of a provider, 98.5% of these women never received another postnatal check. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Lao PDR was 126 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020. Immediate postnatal care (PNC) is a crucial step to improving maternal mortality. The aim of …

The Impact Of Foot Care Education Within The Unhoused Female Population: A Community-Based Nursing Intervention, Bertha Karina Coronel Barragan, Jessica Sandoval, Afia Margaret Darko, Alexandra Elizabeth Lucero, Gloria Yeyoung Kim, Anyanka T. Ziegler

Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects

The Impact of Foot Care Education Within the Unhoused Female Population: A Community-based Nursing Intervention

The unhoused population is a vulnerable community that faces many obstacles in accessing healthcare (Benadda et al., 2025). Many of these individuals face stigmas related to their economic and housing conditions. It is important for nurses to be able to identify risk factors that may increase the prevalence of health-related problems, including using public health models to implement disease prevention. When discussing this population, one crucial preventative measure includes foot care, which aids in the deterrence of infections and promotes overall health (Coates et al., …

Trust Before Treatment: Educating Nurses On Trauma-Informed Care For Sex Trade Survivors, Matthew George Ditchik, Monserrat Castaneda, Daniela Tirado Osorio, Emily Haynes, Dani Salazar Tuparan, Joie Ikuzwe Mburu

Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects

Trust Before Treatment: Educating Nurses on Trauma-Informed Care for Sex Trade Survivors

Survivors of the sex trade often seek healthcare during some of the most vulnerable times in their lives, yet many report experiences of judgment, dismissal, or re-traumatization within clinical settings. Trauma-informed care is an approach that recognizes the lasting impact trauma can have on a person’s physical and emotional well-being and calls healthcare professionals to adjust their practices to promote safety, trust, autonomy, and empowerment. Research shows that implementing trauma-informed care improves patient well-being, enhances staff collaboration, and reduces the risk of further harm (Huo et al., 2023). …

An Individualized Approach To Medication Adherence And Safety For A Community Recovering From Addiction, Neena Marcus, Paige Kessler, Alexa Nehren, Anna Matushevskiy, Tianna Thompson, Veniamin Drozhzhyn

Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects

An Individualized Approach to Medication Adherence and Safety for a Community Recovering from Addiction

Adherence to prescribed medications is essential for the effective treatment and prevention of medical conditions. A study conducted in British Columbia, Canada, estimated that 50% of patients worldwide do not take their medications as prescribed (Zeitouny et al., 2023). Further, having substance use disorder can increase this risk (Mehdinia et al., 2020). Research with patients who are affected by polypharmacy found that pillboxes can support medication adherence (FarzanehRad et al., 2024). With these statistics in mind, our nursing student team developed a leadership project around pillbox …

Optimizing Healthcare Utilization: Distinguishing Between Emergency And Urgent Care, Madilyn Calkins, Molly Dupar, Wintana Gherie, Marcin Janczak, Angela Lee, Lena Zhang

Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects

Optimizing Healthcare Utilization: Distinguishing Between Emergency and Urgent Care

Over the past two months, our group of six nursing students worked with a local transitional housing program for families. Per the facility report, a large portion of the program’s current residents are immigrants and have had little to no exposure to the American healthcare system and their options for care. The issue we targeted for our project is the increased number of 911 calls and emergency room (ER) visits for non-emergent healthcare concerns by our target population. By creating education materials on self-triaging, ER vs. Urgent Care services, and how …

Rural Georgia Hospital Covid-19 Virus Patient Outcomes, Susan P. Smith, Neeraj Dayama, Morgan E. House, Debra Flores, Sharon Hunt, April Dukes, Steven Gautney

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to over 1.2 million deaths in the United States. Given the staggering scale of the pandemic, rural hospitals faced heightened challenges due to limited resource availability and underlying patient characteristics.

Methods: In this context, we examined patient and hospital-related factors associated with inpatient mortality due to COVID-19. This study is a retrospective chart review of patient outcomes of patients who were hospitalized in a Southwest Georgia rural hospital with COVID-19 during the initial onset of the outbreak and over the following 23 months of the pandemic. Patient demographics, other characteristics, …

Communication Challenges Experienced By Telephone Triage Registered Nurses Providing Assessment Of Health Symptoms, Stacy Huddleston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telephone triage nurses routinely assess symptoms and make clinical decisions without visual contact, which introduces complex communication challenges. Language differences, emotional distress, cultural misunderstandings, and the absence of visual cues may influence how symptoms are described, interpreted, and acted upon during telephone encounters. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive description study, guided by Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relations, was to explore how RNs experience and manage communication barriers in telephone triage practice. Six RNs with recent experience in telephone triage participated in semistructured interviews, and the data were analyzed using interpretive description and thematic analysis. Findings indicated that participants relied …

Paternal Alienation, Paternal Strain, Generativity, Adjustment, And Resilience (P-Apgar): A Conceptual Framework For Fathers’ Perinatal Psychosocial Adjustment, Rachael Elizabeth Schmitz

Nursing and Health Sciences

Paternal perinatal depression is underrecognized, and existing tools often fail to capture male-specific symptomatic expressions. Fathers experience significant psychosocial changes during the transitional period, yet clinical assessment of paternal mental health remains largely absent from routine clinical practice. This paper introduces a multi-dimensional tool called the P-APGAR. The theory-informed conceptual tool is meant to guide the assessment of fathers’ perinatal adjustment, operationalizing core elements of role-based, relational, and emotional adaptation. The model adapts the logic of the traditional newborn APGAR score to a father-centered context based on Paternal Identity, Alienation, Paternal Strain, Generativity, Adjustment, and Resilience. A theoretical synthesis approach …

Investigating Nursing Instructors’ Perceptions Of Students’ Critical Thinking And Clinical Judgment After Attending A Flipped Pathophysiology Course, Ashley L. Harmon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand an instructor’s ability to develop critical thinking and clinical judgment for pathophysiology nursing students at a state university in the southeastern United States while using the flipped pedagogical approach. The theory guiding this study was Piaget’s constructivist theory, which aligned with the active role of learners in constructing knowledge, and supported the exploration of how flipped classrooms influenced the development of critical thinking and clinical judgment. The central research question for this study was: What are nursing instructors’ perceptions of students' development of critical thinking and clinical judgment when applying pathophysiology …

Building Capacity, Changing Teaching Practices: Insights From A Professional Development Program For Educators In A Low-Income Country, Caroline Havery, Mary Kililo, Julie Dopsie, Mary Roroi, Di Brown, Ali Moloney, Lisa Townsend, Amanda Neill, Michele Rumsey, Chris Rossiter, Thelma Ali

Pacific Journal of Health

Background

Building capacity of health professional educators in low- and middle-income countries can improve population health outcomes through upskilling the health workforce. However, education programs must respond to local contexts and challenges including participants’ needs and expectations, language difficulties, and resource limitations. This paper evaluates a program for nursing and community health worker educators in Papua New Guinea.

Methods

This qualitative descriptive study was designed and implemented using a collaborative partnership approach. It comprised six focus groups with 26 educators who were program participants. Thematic analysis examined participants’ perceptions of the program and their implementation of change projects.

Results

Four …

Health Histories, Tiffanie Walton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Evidence To Support Certification In Online Nursing Teaching Excellence: A Systematic Review, Ellen Vorbeck, Louisa Krueger, Ellen Johnson

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Abstract

A systematic review of the literature following PRISMA© (2020) was conducted to determine the evidence within nursing and higher education literature to support certification in online teaching and to determine the value of additional certification for nurse educators in higher education nursing programs. Data from CINAHL, ERIC, EBSCO, COCHRANE, AND PUBMED databases were collected following inclusion and exclusion criteria. An independent review by two authors was conducted with twenty-seven articles and one report identified. Bias was examined, followed by deductive analysis, which identified common themes and subthemes within the research. The results suggest that high-quality online courses require instructors …

Health Professional Students' Experiences With Gender-Identity Inclusive Content In The Classroom And Supervised Clinical Learning, Perry Xinyi Zhang, Aria Grabowski, Olivia S. Anderson

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Gender-identity diverse populations have unique healthcare needs, but they experience stigmatization leading to negative health outcomes. Healthcare professionals have reported obstacles to delivering affirming care to gender-identity diverse patients due to limited training. We assessed how health profession students encounter gender-identity content and how students’ perceived preparedness to provide care for gender-identity diverse populations. Methods: A survey distributed to students enrolled in health professional programs at a large mid-western university included close-ended questions about exposure to gender-identity diverse curricular content in didactic and supervised clinical settings and perceived preparedness to work with gender-identity diverse populations. Open-ended questions asked what …

Nursing Practice In Cancer Treatment Decision Making Among Older Adults: A Scoping Review On Behalf Of The International Society Of Geriatric Oncology Nursing, Allied Health, And Scientists Interest Group, Fay J. Strohschein, Hanneke Van Der Wal-Huisman, K. Alix Hayden, Kristen R. Haase, Michelle Hannan, Cindy Kenis, Juan Li, Nikita Nikita, Sophie Pilleron, Tracy Ruegg, Heike Schmidt, Anke Steckelberg, Cassandra Vonnes, Martine Puts

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Cancer treatment decision making (CTDM) presents important challenges among older adults due to variation in health and functional status, presence of comorbidities, differing goals/values, quality and quantity of life considerations, and limited inclusion in clinical trials. Nursing standards and guidelines call for competence in supporting CTDM and nurses advocate for greater involvement. However, clear understanding of the existing evidence to inform nursing practice is lacking. We aimed to map and synthesize evidence that provides insight into nursing practice in CTDM among older adults, with attention to nursing roles, required skills and competencies, potential barriers and facilitators, and outcomes studied. …

Participatory Action Research (Par) In Designing A Supplementary Animated Teaching Resource To Support Learning Cervical Assessment, Michelle Gray, Shelley Stuart, Melanie Welfare

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: To create an education resource that assists students to understand the movement of the cervix during labour from a posterior retroverted position to a central location, cervical effacement, dilatation of the cervix and descent of the fetal skull. Background: Learning about anatomy and physiology in relation to cervical effacement and dilatation are abstract concepts that are difficult to understand from reading alone. Diagrams are of little assistance however 3D animation has the potential to improve students learning experiences. Design: Participatory Action Research (PAR) using the 7 C's Feekery Framework approach was adopted. Participants became coresearchers in conceptualising the learning …

A Joint Effort: Stakeholders' Perspectives Of Medication Management Reviews In Australian Residential Aged Care, Rajendra Gyawali, Marea O'Donnell, Rachel Jenkins, Amy D. Nguyen, Lalit Yadav, Rosemary Saunders, Fiona J. Clay, Johanna I. Westbrook, Karla Seaman, Magdalena Z. Raban

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective: Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) is a government-funded pharmacist-led service to address medication-related problems, such as polypharmacy, which are prevalent in aged care. Despite known benefits, concerns remain about the service's effective implementation to benefit residents. We aimed to explore stakeholders' perspectives of the service and identify challenges and improvement opportunities. Method: A qualitative study was conducted using individual interviews and focus groups with 21 stakeholders, including general practitioners (GPs), a nurse practitioner, registered nurses, pharmacists and consumers. Audio transcripts of the discussions were thematically analysed using inductive coding. Results: Seven interconnected themes were identified, highlighting complexities in RMMR …

Reimagining Peer-Led Support In Doctoral Nursing And Midwifery Education: A Collaborative Autoethnographic Case Study, Gideon U. Johnson, Sachini Thennakoon, Mayumi Kumarage, Emy Toutountzis, Lisa Whitehead

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: To explore how peer-led initiatives can enhance connection, belonging and sustainability within higher degree by research (HDR) nursing and midwifery programmes. Background: HDR study can be an isolating experience, often characterised by fragmented support and limited opportunities for structured peer learning. While institutions provide formal mechanisms for supervision and progress, less attention has been given to student-led approaches that cultivate inclusive scholarly communities and sustained peer engagement. Design: Collaborative autoethnographic case study. Methods: HDR student representatives and academic staff at Edith Cowan University, Australia (2022–2024), reflected collaboratively on the design, implementation and impact of peer-led initiatives, including monthly hybrid …

Tools To Build Undergraduate Nursing Student Volunteer Confidence In Case Of Disaster, Sadie Apuron, Emily F. Calkins, Natashia Forson, Rhean Kang, Corinne Pickart, Ryan Quan

Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects

Building Undergraduate Nursing Student Confidence to Volunteer in Case of Disaster

This paper provides a brief overview of one project in an ongoing collaboration between the nursing department, the Office of Safety and Security, and Health Services at a private university in the Pacific Northwest. The partnership aims to improve disaster response capacity on campus by preparing nursing students to volunteer in medical triage. It builds on a previous project that created a protocol for volunteers and outlined education recommendations (Sebastian et al., 2025). The goal of this project was to create reusable training resources to increase nursing student knowledge …

Educating To Exhaustion: Intention To Leave Among Us Full-Time Nursing Faculty, Jacqueline Christianson, Kathryn J. Malin, Jessica Leiberg, Lisa M. Grabert, Stephanie E. Moser, Jessica L. Zemlak

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

AIM 

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between work efforts and rewards with intention to leave and burnout among full-time nurse educators.

BACKGROUND 

The nursing faculty shortage is a contributor to the nursing shortage. Poor balance between work efforts and rewards may contribute to intention to leave.

METHOD 

A cross-sectional survey of US nurse faculty examined work efforts, rewards, burnout, and intention to leave. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relationships among variables.

RESULTS 

Among 588 participants, efforts and rewards both had significant effects on burnout. Burnout and rewards had significant effects on intention …

Mentorship Practices And Perceptions Of Nursing Faculty At The Aga Khan University In Uganda: A Qualitative Study, Mary Namuguzi, Sarah Nakaziba, Shamim Namukasa, Carolyne Namukwaya, Dinah Kassaman, Arnold Mwanzu, Jackline Estomihi Kiwelu, Duncan Osuka, Nazahed Mkiramweni, Ahmed Sarki

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background Mentorship of new faculty helps to reduce the challenges associated with their new roles, as some lack knowledge of teaching pedagogies. This study assessed the mentorship experiences regarding practices and perceptions of new nursing and midwifery faculty at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM) in Uganda.

Methodology This study used a phenomenological design. Data were collected in semistructured interviews with 11 participants, and data saturation was reached. Data were organized with NVivo 12 Pro and analyzed using framework analysis.

Findings The main themes that emerged were mentorship practices, perceptions about mentorship, and proposed mentorship guidelines. …

Digital Pain Assessment: Patient And Family Perspectives, Rosemary Saunders, Kate Crookes, Kaoru Nosaka, Olivia Gallagher, Jeff Hughes, Caroline Bulsara, Max K. Bulsara, Seng Giap Marcus Ang, Beverley Ewens, Sue Haydon, Karla Seaman, Renée Graham, Debra Scaini, Karen Gullick, Michelle Gay, Christopher Etherton-Beer, Renée Graham

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background/Objectives: Pain is a common symptom for hospitalised older adults. Pain is not always adequately assessed, which can lead to inadequate pain management and adverse patient outcomes. Thus, new technology-driven pain assessment tools have been developed; however, little is known about patients’ and families’ experiences of nurses using them in acute care. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of older adult inpatients and their families’ regarding nurses’ use of the digital technology-driven pain assessment application PainChek^® Universal. Methods: A survey was undertaken as part of a stakeholder evaluation of a randomised control trial exploring the effectiveness of nurse-led …

The Jigsaw Teach-Back Teaching Method: A More Dynamic Alternative To Traditional Lecture, Heidi Carter, Bethany Johnson, Gale Springer

Publications 2026-present

No abstract provided.

Promoting Maternal Health Through Community-Based Education: A Quality Improvement Initiative On Hypertension And Pregnancy Complications In An Outpatient Setting, Areli Mendez

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background

Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy remain one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal complications worldwide, particularly among underserved and minority populations. Spanish-speaking women often experience barriers related to language, limited health literacy, and reduced access to culturally appropriate education, which may delay the recognition of warning signs associated with pregnancy complications. Early education and awareness are essential to improve maternal outcomes and promote timely medical intervention.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally tailored educational intervention designed to improve maternal knowledge regarding hypertension during pregnancy …

A Study Of Awareness Of Antiseptics And Disinfectant Use Among Allied Health Sciences Students And Interns Of A Tertiary Care Hospital, Pooja M, Puneeth A, Sharmi Nm

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Background:

Antiseptics and disinfectants are among the most vital tools in infection prevention and control (IPC), especially in healthcare settings where the risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) remains a significant concern. This study aims to assess the awareness and knowledge of antiseptics and disinfectants among Allied Health Sciences (AHS) students and interns, identify knowledge gaps at different stages of training, and recommend educational interventions.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted among 1st to 3rd-year AHS students and interns at a tertiary care hospital. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire via a Google form after obtaining approval from …