Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects
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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- Creators: Tharalson, Erin
Falls are prevalent among those aged 65 years and older and may result in minor to debilitating injuries in this vulnerable population. Frailty, unsteady gait, and medication side effects all contribute to fall risk as well as dementia, a type of cognitive impairment that disrupts memory and judgment leading to an underestimation of fall risk. Fall prevention evidence suggests that interventions aimed at decreasing fall rates begin with a fall risk assessment and tailored fall prevention measures that promote safety.
To examine the effectiveness of a fall prevention program in dementia care, an evidence-based pilot was conducted in a long-term care facility focused on dementia care. A convenience sample of 16 nurses received a fall prevention education intervention. A fall prevention knowledge instrument measured pre and post-fall prevention knowledge. There was a significant increase in fall risk knowledge from the pre-test (p < .001). The participants then conducted a fall risk assessment of 50 dementia patients using the Morse Fall Scale.
Of the 50 dementia patients, 28 were identified as high risk for falls. The nurses then instituted tailored fall risk prevention measures for those high risk for falls. As a result of the pilot, 40 fall events were noted within a three-month time period, reflecting a significant reduction in falls (p < .001) from the previous year. The institution of a fall prevention program in dementia care incorporating nursing education, a fall risk scale, and measures to promote safety can reduce fall risk in dementia patients.
People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk for disease transmission and bacterial invasion of the blood and/or skin. PWID are a marginalized population who often delay medical treatment or substitute self-care treatment due to increased fear, barriers, or stigmatization in traditional healthcare settings. These delays often create multifaceted complications that eventually cost the healthcare system billions of dollars. This leads to poorer health outcomes in PWID. There is evidence that community-based interventions are effective in reaching this population of people in order to promote better health outcomes.
To address this gap in care, an evidenced based project centered on increasing the confidence levels of community lay workers when providing general wound education to PWID was conducted. The project was implemented at a rural harm reduction agency site in Northern Arizona. Utilizing the theoretical framework of the Adult Learning Theory, a convenience sample of 22 participants received a general wound education intervention consisting of a PowerPoint presentation with a written brochure over multiple sessions.
Adapted questions from the new general self-efficacy (NGSE) scale, which has demonstrated valid internal consistency, were utilized to measure confidence levels of participants and a scored checklist was used to measure teaching performance. Confidence levels significantly increased from baseline to week four (p = .001). Teach-back performance scores also increased from baseline to week two and four. Providing a general wound education intervention to community lay workers improved confidence levels and teaching performance which can promote better health outcomes in PWID.
As the incidence of acute and chronic wound conditions rises and wound dressing protocols become more complex, uninsured patients lacking access to specialty wound care are challenged to manage their own wounds. Understanding multistep dressing change protocols may be inhibited by low health literacy. Low health literacy is associated with reduced disease knowledge and self-care. Little evidence of health literacy effects on wound patients is available nor are literacy-sensitive educational interventions that address wound knowledge and self-care. Improved outcomes occur in all health literacy levels in other diseases with the use of literacy-sensitive educational interventions that incorporate more than one literacy strategy over multiple sessions. To examine the effectiveness of a literacy-sensitive wound education intervention on wound knowledge and self-care, an evidence-based pilot project was conducted in an urban wound clinic.
A convenience sample of 21 patients received a literacy-sensitive wound education intervention consisting of spoken and written communication over several sessions. Instruments measured health literacy level, wound knowledge, dressing performance, and wound healing status. There was a significant increase in wound knowledge scores in all literacy groups from baseline to visit two (p < .01) and four (p < .01). Dressing performance scores remained consistently high through visit four in all literacy levels. All participant’s wounds progressed toward wound healing significantly from baseline to visit two (p < .01) and four (p < .01). Incorporation of a literacy-sensitive education intervention with supportive literacy aids over several sessions supports improved wound knowledge and dressing self-care and can affect healing in patients of all health literacy levels.