Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Eileen Fowles

Abstract

Nurses play a crucial role in promoting educational programs aimed at informing women about their reproductive health. However, the role of nurses in providing the health related information is not well defined. Guided by the continuum model, this project evaluated nurses' perceived role in promoting the reproductive health of women during the preconception period. Twenty nurses from 2 outpatient offices wrote responses to an open-ended questionnaire. A summary of the responses indicated that 70% of the participants refer women to community-based programs to enhance awareness for preconception care. Twenty percent of the nurses indicated that they have an educational program for preconception at their practice sites. However, 70% of the participants responded that their organization does not have a standardized procedure for educating women on the preconception period. Ninety percent of the respondents clearly defined their role in educating women on preconception care and 80% reported offering preconception counseling at every clinic visit. In addition, 60% of the nurses (n = 12) were knowledgeable about reproductive health of women. Preconception care to women could be improved by increasing nurses' knowledge regarding important preconception topics and developing standardized educational materials to distribute to women in the preconception period. Organizational policies and procedures for providing preconception education into the standard of care may be developed. Enhancing nurses' roles in educating women during the preconception period may reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, lower maternal deaths, and reduce maternal and infant mortality.

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