Interventional Education Program Improves Family Nurse Practitioner Students' Knowledge of Heart Disease Prevention Practices: Lead with the Heart DNP Project

Authors

Ava Hatfield-LomacheFollow

Editor's Notes

Ava Hatfield-Lomache was a recipient of an ORCA Travel Grant #201 to present her poster at the Kentucky Association of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives' 37^th Annual Coalition Conference.

Abstract

Heart disease is a major clinical problem in the U.S. today, and it continues to be costly to American lives, healthcare expenditures, and the U.S. economy. Heart disease prevention is key to affecting positive change. The Doctor of Nursing Practice project was designed to create awareness and an education-based platform for heart disease prevention. The heart disease interventional educational program was delivered to students enrolled in a university’s family nurse practitioner program. The project included a pre-test survey, a podcast series, a post-test survey, and a handout. The project focused on heart disease prevention methods, causes, and disease processes associated with heart disease. The pre-test results exhibited an initial lack of knowledge and awareness of the current heart disease statistics, the projected statistical rates, and the cost of heart disease in the United States. Students also lacked a deep understanding of lifestyle factors that cause heart disease. Post-test results exhibited an increased knowledge base in all three aspects with an average increased knowledge of 26% based on pre and post-test results. Open-response feedback was positive, and participants deemed the project beneficial to future practice standards. Overall, the post-test results identified increased awareness and understanding of causative factors of heart disease and created a knowledge base for heart disease prevention strategies for family nurse practitioner students to utilize in future practice.

Recommended Citation

Hatfield-Lomache, Ava (2024) "Interventional Education Program Improves Family Nurse Practitioner Students' Knowledge of Heart Disease Prevention Practices: Lead with the Heart DNP Project," Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal: Vol. 8: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/steeplechase/vol8/iss1/4