Date Available

7-22-2022

Year of Publication

2022

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Committee Chair

Dr. Evelyn Parrish

Clinical Mentor

Dr. Julie Perry

Committee Member

Dr. Andrew Makowski

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Delirium costs the healthcare system $38 to $152 billion dollars annually. Nurses have a unique opportunity as healthcare providers to assess for and identify delirium, but often fail to recognize delirium.

Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to determine the effect of implementing an educational intervention regarding delirium risk factors, symptoms, prevention strategies, and treatments, on the knowledge of nurses working in an intensive care unit.

Methods: This DNP project used a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design. Participants completed a pre-test (Appendix A), an educational intervention (Appendix C & D), and a post-test (Appendix B). Pre-test and post-tests were identical and used to determine the effect of the educational intervention on nurses' knowledge of delirium risk factors, symptoms, prevention strategies, and treatments within the ICU. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare participants’ responses before and after the intervention.

Results: There was a statistically significant increase in the nurses’ overall delirium knowledge after the educational intervention (p

Conclusion: This DNP project evaluated the effects of an education intervention on nurses’ knowledge of delirium. Nurses were able to independently identify more delirium risk factors, signs, symptoms, treatments, and preventions after an education intervention. Nurses have the potential to improve delirium identification rates if given the knowledge and opportunity to do so. Moving forward, providing nurses with delirium education can be a cost-effective way to improve delirium identification rates and improve overall patient care. This DNP project differs from previous studies because rather than evaluating nurses’ ability to use delirium screening tools, this DNP project focused on nurses’ knowledge of delirium independently.

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