CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2021 - 25

RESE A RCH
25
Better Communication,
Health Protocols Can Help
People Fighting Deadly
Respiratory Disease
Breathe Easier, Live Longer
ccording to the CDC, more than
12 million adults in the US
struggle to breathe every day
and have been diagnosed with Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD). Medication and oxygen therapy
have been proven to help patients
breathe easier and increase survival
rates, yet, as many as 55% of patients
don't fully understand or follow medical
instructions for treatment. New
research by CU Nursing could change
that. The study entitled, " A quality improvement
project to increase oxygen
therapy adherence in patients newly
prescribed oxygen at discharge, " by
Kelly Henrichs, DNP, RN, GNP-BC and
Mary Beth Flynn Makic, PhD, RN,CNS
was recently published in MEDSURG
Nursing. " Our research found we can
improve the quality of lives of people
A
Kelly Henrichs,
DNP, RN, GNP-BC
with COPD with simple changes in nursing and therapy
protocols and patient education about how to follow treatment
for oxygen therapy, " said Henrichs and Makic. The
research discovered 33% of the time, nurses sent patients
home with unclear, incomplete or inconsistent instructions
about oxygen therapy, and at times providers did not
accurately chart the necessity for long term oxygen therapy
at discharge. Once researchers consolidated patient
education materials called Care Notes® for patients and
made them easier to understand, more patients followed
their treatment plans and understood the rationale for
treatment and safety precautions. Researchers now suggest
health professionals, including nurses, be given larger
roles in communicating with and teaching patients about
oxygen therapy. The project results indicate that teaching
patients more about oxygen treatment and rationale and
new staff protocols can improve patients' adherence to and
understanding of their oxygen therapy, with the ultimate
result of saving more lives.
CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2021

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