Design and Implementation of an Evidence-Based Solid Organ Transplant Patient Education Protocol

Abstract

Kidney transplant recipients require comprehensive education about medications and caring for their new organ before discharge to prevent unwanted complications, including hospital readmission. Literature supports the need for comprehensive education to enhance outcomes. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) quality improvement project was to design, implement, and evaluate the impact of an evidence-based patient education protocol for kidney transplant recipients that focused on patient medication knowledge, nurse medication knowledge, patient satisfaction, and readmission rates at a transplant intermediate care (IMC) unit. Pender’s Health Promotion Model (HPM) guided the conceptual underpinnings, and the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) Model was used to organize the project. Evidence from a systematic review of literature was utilized to develop a standardized education protocol. Descriptive statistics were used to assess patient knowledge of medications and patient readmission rates pre- and post-implementation. Qualitative data analysis was performed to evaluate nursing knowledge surrounding patient education prior to implementation and their confidence in their delivery of education post-implementation. Analysis of patient 30-day readmission rates demonstrated a downward trend postimplementation. In addition, patients displayed satisfactory knowledge about their medications with an average score of 83.33% nurses who were more engaged during education sessions, and 75% of nurses felt more confident in their educational abilities. Results of this D.N.P. project supported how implementation of evidence-based patient education protocols can enhance and improve the process of medication education for both transplant patients and nursing staff to improve outcomes.