IRB Number

HP-00105300

Date of Award

Summer 7-20-2023

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Dr. Theresa Pape

Second Advisor

Dr. Patricia McLaughlin

Abstract

Practice Problem: Patients who have had endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) require lifelong monitoring and imaging surveillance due to the increased risk of developing serious complications. Despite specific EVAR follow-up and guideline recommendations, patient adherence remains poor.

PICOT: In adult patients who have undergone endovascular aortic repair (P), does the use of a designated follow-up plan(I), compared to the current routine follow-up care (C), increase annual adherence of patients to the recommended post-surgical surveillance (O) over 10 weeks (T)?

Evidence: The literature supported the need to improve lifelong surveillance for EVAR patients, noting a positive correlation between improved patient adherence and using defined follow-up processes. Thirteen articles met the inclusion criteria and were used in the literature review.

Intervention: The intervention for this project included a plan for improving EVAR patient follow-up surveillance and imaging. Data collection included the use of a tracking tool for monitoring patient surveillance, documenting patient calls 30 days prior to due dates for annual surveillance, and mailing letters to those who were non-adherent or lost to follow-up.

Outcomes: Post-implementation data revealed no increase in EVAR patient annual surveillance and follow-up, though clinically significant results were noted through the reconnection of six patients to necessary care.

Conclusion: Though the implementation of a designated EVAR follow-up plan did not result in statistically significant findings, clinically significant outcomes resulted through the reconnection of patients to necessary care and surveillance. These clinically significant outcomes validate using a designated follow-up plan in practice.

Comments

Scholarly project submitted to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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