Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Mary T. Verklan

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men and women in the United States. Colonoscopy is the gold standard for CRC screening; however, the diagnostic efficiency of a colonoscopy is highly dependent on bowel preparation (prep) quality. Up to 30% of colonoscopy patients present with poor bowel prep. Poor bowel prep is a significant clinical practice problem that can lead to missed lesions, increased risk for CRC, increased risks for procedure-related complications, ineffective use of resources, and increased health care costs. A huge barrier to effective colonoscopy is low health literacy. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of health literacy teaching to staff nurses and its impact on bowel preparation in patients undergoing colonoscopies, using the health literacy framework as a guide. Retrospective bowel prep scores (December 2020; January 2021; February 2021) were compared to prospective bowel prep scores (May 2021; June 2021; July 2021) 3 months before and after health literacy teaching was given to the endoscopy staff. Bowel prep quality percentages significantly improved from month to month after health literacy teaching. Findings from the project conclude that health literacy teaching effectively improved bowel prep scores at the facility to the United States Multi-Society Task Force recommended benchmark of 85% in patients undergoing screening colonoscopies. Improved bowel prep increases the diagnostic efficiency of a colonoscopy, leading to decreased CRC-related mortality among patients undergoing screening. Decreasing the incidence of CRC can lead to a healthier community capable of positive societal contributions.

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