Date of Conferral

7-27-2026

Date of Award

July 2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Mattie Burton

Abstract

For this doctoral project, I implemented a structured staff education intervention at an outpatient psychiatric clinic that required a practice change to address medication nonadherence among patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. The practice-focused question was: For staff in an outpatient psychiatric setting, will structured education on the use of the teach-back method improve staff knowledge toward the ultimate goal of improving medication adherence? The goal of this project was to conduct a rigorous education program using the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation model to bridge the communication gap between staff and patients. Staff knowledge was evaluated via a pre-/posttest design using a 10-item, multiple-choice questionnaire. The overall findings demonstrated substantial improvement; participant aggregate knowledge scores increased from a mean of 3.5 to 6.8. Major deliverables included custom role-play scenarios, an evidence-based curriculum, and electronic health documentation prompts. Ultimately, this intervention demonstrated that targeted education was an effective means of improving staff knowledge toward implementation of the teach-back method. The project may lead to positive social change by empowering at-risk individuals and advancing healthcare literacy on medication adherence by ensuring that healthcare information is accessible, understandable, and actionable for individuals across diverse populations with an aim to decrease psychiatric readmissions. This Doctor of Nursing Practice initiative yielded practical communication solutions for an outpatient psychiatry practice.

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