Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
12-2023
Document Type
DNP Project
Department
Nursing
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Sandra Cleveland
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Roneisa Matero
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Donna Atobajeun
Abstract
The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association clinical practice guidelines recommend a cardiovascular risk assessment every 4–6 years in ages 40–75 to prevent cardiovascular disease. This DNP project aimed to improve awareness, compliance with cardiac risk assessments, and stratification of high and low-risk patients. This quality improvement project utilized the Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based model to create the inquiry question and foundational plan for implementing the clinical practice guideline, calculating the cardiac risk score, and creating a clinical workflow process. A retrospective chart audit was guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) method to collect pre- and postintervention data on compliance with the clinical practice guideline, and a pre-/posttest survey to measure the effect of an educational intervention on healthcare provider behavior. In evaluating the data, the PDSA allowed for revisions in the implementation plan. The goals of the DNP project were to reveal a 10% increase in compliance with the completion of cardiac risk assessments with the use of the workflow process and an increase in the data analyzed from the pretest and posttest to show an increase in knowledge of cardiovascular disease guidelines. The project study question was answered with 2 (4.4%) in compliance with completing the cardiac risk assessment postintervention. Low risk, less than 5% chance of having a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years, was predominantly N = 45 found among the participants with no cardiac risk assessment completed 43 (95.6%), the next highest level, intermediate, 12 (100%), and 2 (100%) were borderline. The difference between pre- and posttest survey results revealed with respect to the healthcare provider belief in question 7 (z = -2.000, p = .046) was statistically significant (p < .05). An inverse relationship with the ASCVD level, the risk is lower as HDL increases. The results of this DNP project suggest an evidence-based educational intervention can improve knowledge of screening cardiac risk assessment guidelines, compliance with the clinical practice guideline, and workflow process for a sustainable practice change leading to positive patient outcomes.
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Recommended Citation
Campbell, Rachelle S., "Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk Compliance for Primary Prevention: A Quality Improvement Project" (2023). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 723.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/723