Date of Graduation

Fall 12-15-2023

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Department/Program

Nursing

Program

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

First Advisor

Trinette Radasa

Second Advisor

Joshua Cleary

Abstract

Background: This Quality Improvement project sought to determine if a brief progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) session could decrease patient anxiety before receiving intramuscular (IM) injections for ketamine-assisted therapy. Problem: The Kerstin Helgason, NP clinic does ketamine-assisted therapy, and many patients express anxiety beforehand, either due to a fear of needles or nerves surrounding the medication treatment. Intervention: This project implemented a brief progressive muscle relaxation therapy for patients with anxiety before receiving their IM injection. Measures: The patient’s anxiety levels were measured before and after the PMR therapy using a five-point Likert scale ranging from none to very severe. Results: The data was analyzed using both paired t-tests and the Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and both found that there was a significant difference between pre- and post-anxiety levels. Conclusions: Utilizing brief progressive muscle relaxation sessions decreases anxiety in patients receiving IM ketamine-assisted therapy injections. Dissemination: The following are to expand research of brief PMR into other procedural areas and research into its effects on blood pressure and the psychedelic journey.

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