Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Lyn Losty

Abstract

Elderly nursing home patients’ high rates of hospitalization due to sepsis impact their morbidity and mortality and significantly cost the U.S. healthcare system. Skilled nursing facility (SNF) nurses who have the knowledge to assess older adults for signs and symptoms of sepsis and communicate findings to providers are instrumental in providing improved care for patients. The purpose of this doctoral project was to provide a group evidence-based educational intervention on sepsis care of older adults geared toward nurses working in SNFs. The practice-focused question asked whether an educational intervention focused on the signs and symptoms of sepsis in the elderly population increased the knowledge and confidence of staff nurses working in a SNF to discuss patient condition with providers. Rosswurm and Larrabee’s model and the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate model guided development and implementation of the educational intervention, which was a 45-minute presentation. The participants were 15 licensed nurses from a single SNF. The approach used pre- and posttests to measure the educational intervention’s ability to improve nursing knowledge and confidence. Data were analyzed via a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. The results showed a non-statistically significant but clinically improved difference in pretest and posttest scores of knowledge (z = -1.63, p > 0.05) and a statistical difference in pretest and posttest confidence scores (z = -2.80, p < 0.01). This project may impact positive social change by providing education to SNF nurses to enhance knowledge and confidence of sepsis care for older adults, thus improving care quality for SNF patients with sepsis, leading to decreased complications and improved outcomes for this vulnerable population.

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