Date of Award

January 2020

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Yale University School of Nursing

First Advisor

Andree de Lisser

Abstract

Nursing home hospitalizations are classified as potentially avoidable when they do not improve quality of life or change the course of illness. These hospitalizations are costly, disruptive and detrimental to the quality of nursing home care. Nurses maintain the interconnection amongst the key stakeholders involved in the decision to hospitalize and are integral to the efforts employed in reducing potentially avoidable transfers. The purpose of this project is to enhance the self-efficacy of long-term care nurses with respect to reducing potentially avoidable nursing home hospitalizations, utilizing an expert validated educational module. A review of the literature on potentially avoidable nursing home hospitalizations was completed. Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy was used to guide the development of the educational module. An on-line educational module was designed utilizing both audio and visual material. A panel of subject matter experts validated the curriculum. The palliative care self-efficacy scale was used to measure participant self-efficacy and advanced directives were measured to determine impact on nursing practice. Based on the results, it is deduced that this educational intervention enhanced the self-efficacy of the participating nurses and potentially increased the number of documented facility advanced directives. This educational module has the potential to enhance the self-efficacy of long-term care nurses with respect to reducing potentially avoidable hospitalizations. The next steps of this project include measuring potentially avoidable transfers pre and post intervention.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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