Mikyung KimFollow

Date

12-2019

Department

School of Nursing

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Chair

Vickie Moore

Keywords

Chlamydia Infection, Chlamydia Screening, Emergency Department

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends chlamydia screening in young women and others who are at risk based on scientific evidence related to the effectiveness of screening to prevent chlamydial infection. Female patients may visit the emergency department (ED) with symptoms such as urethritis, abdominal pain, or vaginal spotting. For men, most complaints are urinary problems, discharge from the penis, and testicular pain. However, most infected patients are never symptomatic and have no abnormal physical findings. Therefore, the question that spurred this project was, “Why aren’t asymptomatic patients screened more often?” Furthermore, “Why are the CDC screening guidelines for chlamydia often not followed by providers?” The purpose of this evidence-based project was to provide an educational intervention to health care providers in the Emergency Department (ED) about the CDC guidelines for chlamydia screening and to encourage them to screen eligible asymptomatic patients in a Bronx community-based ED. As a result of the educational intervention, there was a significant improvement of the ED providers’ knowledge of the CDC guidelines; however, the screening rate remained low. During the period after the educational intervention, the ED participants did not satisfactorily comply with the CDC guidelines; however, ED participants consistently demonstrated their willingness to perform the chlamydia screening for eligible patients. This finding indicates a need for frequent education on the CDC guidelines on the importance of chlamydia testing to effectively improve the screening rates.

Download

Included in

Nursing Commons

Share

COinS