Date of Award

8-1-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing (ND)

First Advisor

Dr. Brenda Hage

Abstract

Urinary tract infections are one of the most common illnesses and inappropriate treatment of a urinary tract infection can have severe implications for the patient, including development of antibiotic resistance, increases in illness and health care costs. Discrepancies exist between provider practice behaviors and use of current clinical practice guidelines. This capstone project was to present clinical practice guidelines to emergency department providers to educate and improve the use of first-line antibiotics for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections. The review of the literature supported the use of education to increase adherence to guidelines. The providers at the emergency department were given a pre-education questionnaire of clinical knowledge followed by education with the current clinical guidelines. A post-education questionnaire was given in one month after the educational program. The questionnaires were compared for improvement in prescribing habits. A retrospective chart review was conducted using the emergency department’s computer system one month before and one month after the education and distribution of the clinical guideline. Increased knowledge was demonstrated by an increase in the pre to post education questionnaire scores. Provider adherence to current clinical practice guidelines rose from 5% to 58%.

Included in

Nursing Commons

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