Date of Graduation

Spring 5-17-2018

Document Type

Restricted Project - USF access only

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Department/Program

Nursing

Program

Executive Leader DNP

First Advisor

Dr. Robin K Buccheri

Second Advisor

Dr. Brian Budds

Abstract

Problem: There was no existing standardized communication strategy to link frontline staff with risk management and patient safety information at an acute care medical center within a large integrated healthcare system in Northern California.

Context: When certain risk events occurred, the acute care medical center conducted a root cause analysis, but the learnings were inconsistently shared with frontline staff.

Interventions: An evidence-based change of practice project was designed and implemented. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project included a hospital-wide information sharing strategyon disseminating risk and patient safety information to frontline staffvia digital signage.

Measures: There was one outcome measure, to reduce harm to patients, which was measured by the harm index. There were three process measures: (a) People Pulse Survey, (b) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety, and (c) events reported.

Results: This acute care medical center had a 32% reduction in its 2017 harm index in comparison to the 2016 harm index as a result of the intervention. This translates into 15 fewer patients that experienced harm.

Conclusions: A hospital-wide communication strategy on disseminating risk and patient safety information was developed, implemented, and evaluated. Key findings were when risk and patient safety information was shared with frontline staff, it led to an improved patient safety culture, which in turn led to a reduction in harm to patients. Sharing information via digital signage did prove to be an effective communication mechanism across all generations.

Download

To download restricted works from off campus you must have a USF email address and use it to create an account for the repository.

  Contact Author

Share

COinS