Date of Award

January 2023

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Yale University School of Nursing

First Advisor

Laura Andrews

Second Advisor

Joanne Iennaco

Abstract

Limited health literacy (LHL) has profound implications on measured transplant outcomes as it is associated with higher incidence of graft loss, organ rejection, decreased immunosuppression medication adherence, and increased hospital re-admissions. Identification of patients with limited health literacy allows for opportunities to provide targeted medication education that allows patients to become more active participants in their care while increasing their transplant medication education knowledge and self-efficacy. The aims of this DNP projects were to develop and implement a medication education intervention algorithm that incorporates health literacy scores and evidenced based educational interventions amongst kidney transplant recipients (initial transplants and re-admissions) and evaluate what effect medication education interventions have on transplant medication knowledge and medication self-efficacy. Fifty-percent of participants who underwent health literacy screening were found to be at risk for LHL and a significant difference was found in overall transplant medication education scores and SEAMS assessment scores post intervention. These results reinforces that there is a need for health literacy screening to identify patients who may require additional educational intervention. The improvement seen in overall transplant medication education scores and SEAMS assessment scores post-intervention aligns with the existing literature on health literacy, which is that intervention leads to improved health literacy and improved patient behaviors.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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