Abstract

The delay in initiating enteral feeding (EF) in the critical care unit is known to cause malnutrition which may lead to poor patient outcomes. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative project was to determine if the nurse practitioner (NP)-driven enteral nutrition protocol recommended by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) will psychologically empower the NP toward reducing the delay on initiating EF and lowering the length of stay (LOS) of adult patients an intensive care unit in urban California over four weeks. This project utilized the theoretical foundation of Imogen King on goal attainment. The total sample size was 16, with (n = 9) in the comparative group and (n = 7) in the implementation group. The NP empowerment score was measured using Spreitzer's Psychological Empowerment Scale. A paired t-test showed no statistically significant increase in psychological empowerment scores among the NPs (M = 5.14; SD = 1.53; p = 0.659). An independent t-test showed no statistically significant reduction in the timing on EF (M = 34.1; SD = 27.6; p = 0.062) however there was a statistical and clinically significant reduction in the length of hospital stay (M = 13.23; SD = 3.93; p = 0.005) after the intervention. The recommendation is to sustain the project using the EF protocol to empower the health care team members toward the improvement of the clinical practice in implementation of EF which may reduce the LOS and improve patient outcomes.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 28090154; ProQuest document ID: 2445435232. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Jho Mary Tangcora, DNP, AG-ACNP

Sigma Membership

Nu Upsilon

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Quasi-Experimental Study, Other

Research Approach

Quantitative Research

Keywords:

Enteral Feeding Protocol, Nurse Practitioner, Process Improvement, Psychological Empowerment

Advisor

Neil Williams

Second Advisor

Zerlina Wong

Third Advisor

Yoko Takashina

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Grand Canyon University

Degree Year

2020

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2021-08-04

Full Text of Presentation

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