The Graduate Nursing Project collection includes Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects and Master's students' non-thesis projects submitted as part of program requirements.
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| Title | Creator | Date | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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A Community-Based Podcast Approach to Promoting Population Health Awareness of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Education, Resources, and Support | Lybbert, Joni S. | 2023 | Background: Utah's postpartum depression rate is 14.8%, higher than the national average (12.5%). Individuals with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) often remain untreated, primarily due to barriers to accessing maternal mental health resources. This project aimed to develop and implement... |
| 2 |
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A Needs Assessment to Evaluate Implementing a Relationship Enhancement Intervention for Couples at a Community Mental Health Clinic | Hoppe, Kristen; Stephens, Caroline | 2023 | Background: Divorce's harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities is a well-known concern. Dissatisfying relationships, even without divorce, are a significant source of stress and can contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. Relationship interventions reduce stress and improve... |
| 3 |
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A Practice Model to Integrate Mental Health Care at an Outpatient Burn Clinic | Harris, Alissa K.; Quinn, Kristen; Morgan, Deborah | 2023 | Background: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 350,000 individuals sought medical treatment for burn injuries in 2020. Over half of those individuals will experience a mental health disorder within one year. Despite the known link between mental health disorde... |
| 4 |
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A Quality Improvement Initiative: Reducing the Number of Frequent Revisits in the Emergency Department | Alm, Melissa; Morgan, Deborah; Hopkins, Christy | 2020 | Background:Inappropriate use of the emergency department (ED) is a persistent and costly problem in the United States (US) healthcare system. More than 136 million ED visits were recorded in the US in 2014 and studies show 50-65% of this patient population have mental health problems. The introducti... |
| 5 |
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A Quality Improvement Intervention to Reduce the Use of PRN Psychotropic Medications Among Older Adults in the Long-Term Care Setting | Kwong, Kimmy | 2020 | Problem: Even with our increasing knowledge about the limited effectiveness and severe side effects of PRN psychotropic medications, the frequency of their use in the geriatric population remains high. Higher drug intake and potentially inappropriate PRN psychotropic medication administration contri... |
| 6 |
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Assessment of and Intervention for Compassion Fatigue in Psychotherapists | Tucker, Karl | 2020 | Background:A 2017 meta-analysis of 90 studies related to compassion fatigue confirms that healthcare professionals across all disciplines experience impairments to their physical, mental, and interpersonal health caused by work-related stress. This project explored whether a compassion fatigue works... |
| 7 |
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DBT Skills and Support Groups for Family Members/Affected Others in Relationships with Individuals Living with Borderline Personality Disorder | Daniels, Brinli A. | 2020 | Problem. Relational distress between family members/affected others and individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) can negatively influence the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Researchindicatesthat when family members/affected otherssupportindividuals participating D... |
| 8 |
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Decreasing Premature Termination of Addiction Treatment for Adolescent Females Through the Utilization of an Assessment Tool to Evaluate the Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Level of Motivation | Freeman, Corrine M.; Bullock, Randy | 2022 | Background: Premature discharge from a residential addiction treatment setting increases a patient's risk of relapse and the development of comorbid mental health disorders. Current evidence suggests that promoting intrinsic motivation, through a therapeutic approach, into a patient's treatment plan... |
| 9 |
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Dementia Risk Reduction in Geriatric Primary Care: A Needs Assessment | Shaw, Rebecca L. | 2023 | Background: Dementia is a costly disease that profoundly impacts patients, caregivers, and health systems, and increasing disease-related morbidity threatens to overwhelm an already overburdened healthcare infrastructure. Although there is no cure for dementia, it may be possible to delay the onset ... |
| 10 |
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Developing an Evidence-Based Clinical Protocol for IV Ketamine Therapy | Johnson, Melissa L.; Morgan, Deborah; Anderson, Sumer | 2022 | Background: Intravenous (IV) ketamine is rising as a novel pharmaceutical option manifesting rapid and robust symptom reduction and offering much promise in alleviating Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD). Clear and consistent evidence-based practice protocols and guidelines are lacking as practiti... |
| 11 |
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Developing and Implementing Medication Administration Protocol in a Residential Treatment Facility | Krambule, Heather | 2020 | Background:In the United States, medication errors are responsible for thousands of deaths every year in the pediatric population. Residential treatment facilities hire unlicensed medical staff to administer medications with minimal training and supervision from a licensed medical provider. The stat... |
| 12 |
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Development and Implementation of an Interim Coping Skills Module for Waitlisted Patients Seeking Mental Health Therapy | Mansfield, Austin; Morgan, Deborah | 2022 | Background: From 2015 to 2021, an average of 640 Utahns died by suicide each year. Between August 2020 and August 2021, calls to a Utah suicide prevention hotline increased by 24%. The national and state shortage of psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) aggravates U... |
| 13 |
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Development of a Manualized Perinatal Bereavement Support Group | Bullock, Brittany A. | Background: Perinatal loss is defined as the loss of an infant through death at any gestation of pregnancy (miscarriage, early loss, stillborn) up to 28 days after birth (Fenstermacher & Hupcey, 2013). Perinatal grief is linked to biosocial factors such as depression, anxiety, substance use, sleep d... | |
| 14 |
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Evaluation of the Adaptation and Implementation of a Virtual Psychoeducational Support Group for People with Mild Cognitive Impairment | Kuykendall, Mary D. | 2023 | Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common in older populations, and its prevalence increases with age. Ten percent of older Americans with MCI progress to dementia each year. As dementia is the third most expensive disease to treat, early identification and intervention are critical. Man... |
| 15 |
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Implementation and Evaluation of Burnout Training for Outpatient Mental Health Nurse Practitioners | Porter, Sarah T. | 2020 | Background: Burnout for mental health providers is negatively impacting Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) as it harms their physical and mental health. Nursing burnout, including APRN burnout, is costly for organizations, hinders patient care and degrades patient outcomes. This educational... |
| 16 |
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Implementation of Screening and Referral Protocol for Paternal Postpartum Depression in a Pediatric Clinic Setting | George, Clint | 2020 | Background:Paternal Postpartum Depression (PPpD) can have dire long-lasting effects on children's cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development yet there is little attention given to the mental health of new fathers. Rates of PPpD have been found to be as high as 35.5% in the United State... |
| 17 |
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Implementation of the CGI-S Screening Tool at an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic | Rehbein, Kaitrin; Morgan, Deborah | 2022 | Background: Psychiatric providers struggle to keep consistent records of patient outcomes through valid and reliable statistical tools compared to their medical provider counterparts (Kilbourne et al., 2018). The Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) tool is a well- established research rating... |
| 18 |
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Implementation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a Universal Screening Tool in a Rural Utah Postpartum Population | Hopkins, Megan E.; Bailey, ElLois | 2022 | Background: Major and minor depressive episodes during the perinatal period impact 12-20% of all childbearing women. Consequences of maternal depression include maternal dysfunction- psychosocial, relational, occupational, and physical, pre-term delivery, dysfunction in the maternal-infant relations... |
| 19 |
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Implementing a Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Program in an Outpatient Counseling and Psychiatry Clinic | Dawson, Kristen M. | 2023 | Background: Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a newly emerging treatment modality gaining popularity among outpatient psychiatric practices. Despite mental health practitioners' increased interest in KAP, evidence-based protocols to direct safe treatment remain scarce. Experts in psychiatry, ... |
| 20 |
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Implementing a Mental Health Screening and Referral Program in a Cardiology Clinic | Allen, Amy | 2023 | Background: Depression and anxiety negatively impact cardiac patient outcomes. Identifying and treating depression and anxiety in cardiac patients improves patient outcomes by decreasing the number of hospital admissions and mortality rates. Cardiology clinics can use mental health screenings to ide... |
| 21 |
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Implementing Improved Mental Health Screenings in Home Health Care | Searle, Christopher B.; Whiteley, Kylie; Webb, Sara | 2023 | Background: Depression and anxiety are among the most diagnosed mental health disorders. Moreover, those with chronic medical conditions are more likely to develop mental illness and suicidal behaviors, which validated screening tools can detect. A high correlation between mental illness and chronic... |
| 22 |
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Implementing SBAR to Facilitate Communication and Improve Transitions Between Inpatient and Outpatient Behavioral Healthcare Services | Taylor, Ligia J. | 2020 | Background: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement the Situation Background Assessment and Recommendation (SBAR) communication tool in an inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) to improve transitions of care for veterans. Ineffective hand-offs contribute to adverse events, de... |
| 23 |
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Implementing the ACE and PCL-5 Screening Tools to Improve Trauma-Informed Care at an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic | Rockwood, Reilly, B. | 2023 | Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma response that leads to adverse psychological and physical symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorder is frequently underdiagnosed by providers, resulting in unrecognized and untreated trauma symptoms. Experts recommend screening patients wi... |
| 24 |
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Implementing the ACE Screening Tool to Improve Access to Trauma-Focused Care for Individuals with a Substance Use Disorder | Butler, Nathan W.; Webb, Sara; Tufts, Gillian | 2022 | Background: Research has shown that individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) have high rates of childhood trauma. Individuals who experience high levels of childhood trauma are 4-12 times more likely to have a SUD. Trauma-informed care supports SUD treatment interventions by identifying root ... |
| 25 |
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Implementing Verbal De-escalation on Agitated Patients with Serious Mental Illness In a Community Healthcare Setting | Smith, Sherrie; Bullock, Randy; Terry, Briana | 2022 | Background: According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI, n.d.], 43.8 million adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year. Individuals with mental illness are not necessarily more aggressive or violent than people without mental illness. Substance abuse, adverse childhood ex... |