Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Committee Chair

Tracy Arnold

Abstract

Unplanned hospital readmissions are commonly viewed as a marker of poor quality care and result in increased costs for both healthcare institutions and patients. Factors associated with readmission for gynecological oncology patients can be related to the radical surgical interventions required for the management of their disease, as well as complex comorbidity profiles, surgical complexity, cancer stage, and perioperative complications. The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the impact of nursing-led telephone follow up on the reduction of the readmission rate in gynecologic oncology abdominal surgery patients following initial discharge post-operatively. A cross-sectional research study was used to examine the relationship between the use of post discharge follow-up calls (intervention group versus control group) and 30-day readmission (yes/no) using chi-squared test for all categorical variables, and two sample t-tests for continuous variables. Variables were compared between the experimental and control groups given the potential association with the outcome of interest (readmission), including age, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, tobacco use, performance status using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status, length of surgery, estimated blood loss, perioperative blood transfusion, formation of ostomy, and length of hospital stay of one day or greater than one day duration. There were no significant differences found between the control group and experimental groups and each variable. There are future implications of this study surrounding the profound importance of the involvement of nursing staff in improvement in discharge teaching, transitions of care, and the patient experience. Evidenced-based practices are needed to improve the health and safety of the patients we care for.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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