Date of Award

Summer 2023

Project Type

Thesis

College or School

CHHS

Department

Nursing

Program or Major

Direct-Entry Masters of Nursing

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Kaitlynn Liset

Second Advisor

Pamela Kallmerten

Abstract

Background: It is well documented that there is a high prevalence of Veteran tobacco use in the United States. Additionally, providing smoking cessation counseling in an emergency setting is beneficial. The broader Veteran Affairs (VA) macrosystem has a plethora of smoking cessation resources available for Veterans. Within a VA Urgent Care Center (UCC) a quality improvement initiative was conducted that focused on increasing registered nurses (RNs) self-efficacy in providing smoking cessation counseling. Prior to this quality improvement (QI) project, smoking cessation did not occur in this UCC. If RNs have higher self-efficacy more smoking cessation counseling will occur.

Methods: A pre-assessment was administered to RNs in the UCC (n=8) to assess their self- efficacy in providing smoking cessation counseling. Following the pre-assessment an educational PowerPoint was delivered to staff via their institutional email, that covered best practice and a review of the VAs resources. Following the educational PowerPoint, participants completed a post-assessment. Educational materials were made easily accessible for RN distribution following the intervention.

Results: There was a 20% increase in RNs self-reported efficacy in providing smoking cessation following the intervention. RNs reported via free-text answers that they believed the educational handouts were beneficial and that smoking cessation is important. Conclusion: This QI project increased RNs self-efficacy in providing smoking cessation and increased the availability of smoking cessation resources for Veterans. Future, Plan-Do-Study- Act (PDSA) cycles are necessary to further understand the benefit of providing smoking cessation for this population in this type of unit.

Conclusion: This QI project increased RNs self-efficacy in providing smoking cessation and increased the availability of smoking cessation resources for Veterans. Future, Plan-Do-Study- Act (PDSA) cycles are necessary to further understand the benefit of providing smoking cessation for this population in this type of unit.

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