Date of Conferral

4-23-2025

Date of Award

April 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Patricia Schweickert

Abstract

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aimed to address the critical issue of stimulant medication adherence in adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by implementing a staff education initiative for nurses at a psychiatric private practice. Nonadherence to medications like Adderall poses significant challenges in symptom management and overall patient outcomes. Guided by the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model and the ADDIE instructional design framework, this project developed and implemented a structured educational program tailored to nursing staff. The program included an evidence-based PowerPoint presentation, interactive discussions, and a 10-item pre- and posttest questionnaire validated using the Content Validity Index (CVI = 0.92). Eight nursing professionals participated in the training, showing an average improvement of 25 percentage points from pretest (mean = 60.75%) to posttest (mean = 86.5%), indicating enhanced knowledge of stimulant adherence strategies. Findings suggest that staff education can effectively increase nurses’ competence in addressing adherence barriers such as stigma, forgetfulness, and side effects. The project has broader implications for improving patient-provider relationships, enhancing care quality, and promoting health equity by empowering nurses to deliver culturally competent, patient-centered care. Recommendations include expanding the program to other team members, integrating adherence monitoring tools into electronic health records, and conducting long-term evaluations to assess sustained impact.

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