Date of Award
Summer 2022
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
Faculty Chair
Dr. Lynnette Djonret-Hall
Abstract
Background: Cancer is one of the most dreadful diseases present in today’s world. It is responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. The disease is debilitating to one’s physical and emotional well-being. Cancer impacts not only the affected individual but also those close to them. When colorectal cancer is identified early via preventive screenings, it has a greater chance of responding to treatment, therefore, increasing the chances of survival. The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit plays a pivotal role in the early detection of colon cancer. Schreuders et al. (2016) revealed that FIT kits have better adherence, usability, and accuracy, citing that FITs either provide a qualitative calculation or quantitative calculation in terms of fecal hemoglobin concentration per gram of feces. Schreuders et al. (2016) further supported preventive screenings noting the high occurrence and related mortality with the typically slow progression of colorectal cancer renders colorectal cancer remarkably suitable for population screening via FIT kits. Many of the key findings from the literature review revealed that utilizing multimodal communication strategies enhanced patient participation and compliance in colorectal preventive screenings.
Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to improve the return rate of fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits by implementing multimodal communication strategies.
Methods: Multimodal communication strategies utilize various forms of communication such as verbal, text/email, and written forms such as letters. The goal of this project was to demonstrate that utilizing multimodal communication strategies will increase patients’ willingness to return fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits.
Results: Key results revealed that of the seven kits issued post-intervention (March), there were three (42.9%) returned. There was no statistically significant difference between the proportion of kits returned pre-intervention versus post-intervention (p=0.239).
Conclusion: The project aided in increasing the number of screened patients for colorectal cancer; however, the project’s results did not show an increase in the return rate of FIT after implementing multimodal communication strategies.
Recommended Citation
Hooten, Shuntae, "Utilizing Multimodal Communication Strategies to Improve Average Risk Women Veteran Patient Participation in Returning Colorectal Fecal Immunochemical Test Kits" (2022). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 68.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/etds_nursing/68
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