Date of Conferral

11-7-2025

Date of Award

November 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Jill Walsh

Abstract

For this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project, I created a staff education initiative aimed at enhancing nurses’ understanding of heart failure (HF) and clarifying their role within clinical pathways for managing decompensated HF. HF is a common and complex condition, accounting for 1-2% of hospital admissions. In response to the rising 30-day readmission rate and lack of a standardized discharge protocol, an evidence-based staff education program was developed. According to the “ACC/AHA/HFSA 2022 HF guidelines”, effective prevention and management require nurses to understand causes, risk factors, and pathophysiology of HF, along with their role in patient-centered care. Nurses routinely provide patient education in inpatient and outpatient settings, but may be limited in terms of providing adequate instruction due to a lack of comprehensive knowledge of HF. The purpose of the project was to develop an evidence-based education program for nurses to increase their knowledge of HF. The project involved answering the question: “What is the effect of implementing a staff education program based on an evidence-based practice (EBP) approach to discharge education for HF patients on nursing staff knowledge? To assess the effectiveness of the program, I employed a pretest-posttest design and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics along with the normalized learning gain metric. Results showed a slight increase in staff knowledge. Effective discharge education empowers nurses to support HF patients in terms of managing their care and reducing readmissions. This highlights nursing’s role in delivering cost-effective and coordinated care. The project also involved addressing social challenges faced by HF patients in terms of isolation and poor self-care after discharge.

Download

Share

 
COinS