Improving Sepsis Bundle Compliance through Comprehensive Education

Author

Stacy Mikel, Jacksonville State UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Summer 2019

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Faculty Chair

Dr. Myrna Williamson & Dr. Leigh-Ann Keith

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to improve emergency department compliance with sepsis bundles by educating registered nurses and licensed practical nurses on the proper use of sepsis screening tools, make changes to screening tools identified through chart reviews, and finally to evaluate the impact of these changes once initiated. This project sought to increase staff knowledge using an educational module.

Methods: This project began with the delivery of a pre-test questionnaire. The facility's target audience was asked to complete this to determine their current knowledge level regarding sepsis. Once these questionnaires were completed, they were reviewed, and information regarding sepsis knowledge deficits was evaluated as a process evaluation through retrospective chart reviews.

Results: The hospital sites provided summary data of employee results on the Sepsis Questionnaire before and after training. A total of 29 hospital employees took the pre-test, and 20 took the post-test. The pre-test group received an average of 80.1% of the items correct. The post-test group scored an average of 71.4%, a decrease of 8.74%. This decrease is a surprising result, but a t-test showed that the decline was not statistically significant. Chi-square analysis indicated a significant difference between North and South locations in the degree to which the Sepsis protocol was followed during January and February 2019. Although the percentage of cases in which the Sepsis protocol was not followed decreased from 33% to 24% from Q4 of 2018 to the first two months of 2019, chi-square analysis showed that this change was not statistically significant. The lack of a significant result does not indicate that the intervention was not effective; the small number of cases made a significant result less likely.

Recommended Citation

Mikel, Stacy, "Improving Sepsis Bundle Compliance through Comprehensive Education" (2019). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 15.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/etds_nursing/15