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The Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Projects collection contains the completed works of students from the DNP Program at Arizona State University's College of Nursing and Health Innovation. These projects are the culminating product of the curricula and demonstrate clinical scholarship.

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College of Nursing and Health Innovation
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Communication Plan: Patients with Suspected COVID-19

Description
Hospital visitation policies have continued to evolve throughout the pandemic resulting in visitation restrictions for COVID patients. To positively shape the experience for patients, families, and care providers a new communication plan utilizing virtual visiting emerged. The purpose of this quality improvement project, developed based on the caring theory, is to explore if implementing…

Hospital visitation policies have continued to evolve throughout the pandemic resulting in visitation restrictions for COVID patients. To positively shape the experience for patients, families, and care providers a new communication plan utilizing virtual visiting emerged. The purpose of this quality improvement project, developed based on the caring theory, is to explore if implementing iPads with virtual visiting capabilities is effective in increasing patient and family satisfaction. IPads were deployed throughout a large, emergency department located in the southwest United States to enable virtual communication among patients, families, and healthcare workers to measure the patient and family’s satisfaction. After the virtual visit the patient and family member had the option to complete a satisfaction survey. The anonymous post-visit Likert-scale surveys measured (1) ease of iPad use, (2) staff engagement, and (3) mental health - coping and stress. Participants were recruited via the electronic medical record that displayed patients being ruled out for COVID. Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and the results showed high levels of satisfaction among the patients and families in all areas. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the availability of virtual visits is beneficial for patients and families. The implementation of video communication via iPad showed high levels of patient and family satisfaction, mental health outcomes and increased family involvement.
ContributorsZirkus, Cloe (Author) / Rauton, Monica (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor)
Created2022-04-30
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Improving Patient Outcomes through Use of a Stroke Navigator Program

Description
BACKGROUND: Stroke is a serious condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Of the 800,000 strokes that occur in the United States annually, one quarter can be described as recurrent events. Timeliness of care and patient education are considered critical tenets of stroke management. These interventions limit neuronal loss and…

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a serious condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Of the 800,000 strokes that occur in the United States annually, one quarter can be described as recurrent events. Timeliness of care and patient education are considered critical tenets of stroke management. These interventions limit neuronal loss and prepare the patient to adopt lifestyle changes that prevent recurrent stroke. Several previous studies demonstrate that the use of patient navigator programs can improve clinical outcomes in this patient population. METHODS: A stroke navigator quality improvement program was designed and deployed at a stroke center in the American Southwest. During the 3-month study, patients diagnosed with stroke were enrolled by means of implied consent (n=52). Subjects were followed from emergency department presentation to discharge. Interventions aimed to reduce times from door to computed tomography (CT), door to alteplase, and door to thrombectomy. Patients were also provided education, emotional support, and case management. Positive response was defined as reduction in time taken to achieve core measures when compared with baseline institutional data. RESULTS: Two-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank tests were utilized to compare two large data sets: baseline door to CT, alteplase, and thrombectomy mean times for three months preceding the intervention to the three month period during which the intervention was deployed. No statistical significance was demonstrated. Next, the same test was used to compare baseline CT time data to the smaller group of patients that were treated by the stroke navigator. This showed that the stroke navigator yielded significant reduction in door to CT times when compared to baseline institutional performance (p=0.015). CONCLUSION: In concurrence with previous research, the stroke navigator program was successful in improving the quality of stroke care, notably during the acute phase when expedited computed tomography is needed to prevent neuronal loss. Further research is needed to determine if the intervention could improve door to alteplase and thrombectomy times as well as prevent stroke readmissions.
ContributorsOrganes, Laura & Schoefeld, Nicolas (Author) / Rauton, Monica (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor)
Created2021-04-23