Date of Conferral
2019
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Susan Hayden
Abstract
Hypertension (HTN) is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease complications, disability, and mortality. Delayed detection of HTN increases the risk of the patient developing heart disease, renal failure, and stroke, which are among the leading causes of death in the US. Educating healthcare providers is, therefore, necessary to ensure accuracy when measuring blood pressure (BP) to improve the likelihood of early detection and commencement of treatment. The BP teaching project involved the development of an evidence-based teaching program to educate nurses at an East Coast Veterans' Administration Center on the guidelines of measuring BP. The practice-focused question addressed whether the literature would support a continuing education program in BP measurement to improve the nurses' knowledge and skills necessary to promote patients' quality of life related to HTN. The evidence-based literature supported education and provided the information used to develop the teaching modules. The frameworks guiding the project included practice modules grounded in quality improvement and, more specifically, the plan, do, study, and act cycles. The findings indicated a highly significant increase in nurses' knowledge of BP measurement after the educational session (p< 0.001). The implications for positive social change included improving the health outcomes of veterans and promoting HTN management in the East Coast VA primary care centers.
Recommended Citation
Lynch, Dorine A., "Basic Quality Care Blood Pressure Teaching Plan" (2019). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 7821.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7821
