Date
10-16-2025
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Rachel A. Joseph
Keywords
Nurse confidence, mental health communication, educational intervention, outpatient, therapeutic communication, resource identification
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Mathews, Joy-Ruth, "Nurse Confidence in Mental Health Communication: Examining the Effect of an Educational Intervention in Outpatient Specialty Departments" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7530.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7530
Abstract
The global prevalence of mental health illnesses has prompted a growing need for healthcare professionals to be prepared to identify and address these concerns. Many nurses in outpatient specialty departments report feeling underprepared and lacking confidence when communicating with patients about mental health concerns. This scholarly project utilized an educational intervention to improve nurse confidence in mental health communication, the application of therapeutic communication techniques, and resource identification. A quasi-experimental, one-group pretest/posttest design was implemented, with nurses from outpatient specialty departments at Duke Health’s Kernodle Clinic completing pre- and post-Likert scale surveys to assess changes in their self-reported confidence. The educational intervention, a pre-recorded video presentation on Microsoft Teams, focused on common mental health conditions, therapeutic communication techniques, and resource identification. A t-test analysis showed statistically significant improvements in nurses’ self-reported confidence in applying therapeutic communication techniques, discussing suicidal ideation, using screening tools, identifying resources, and understanding referral processes. These results support that a targeted educational intervention can effectively enhance nurses’ confidence in addressing mental health concerns within a specialty outpatient setting. The implications for practice suggest that this educational intervention can be implemented for staff across the broader healthcare system to improve mental health communication at the point of care.