Journal of Nursing Care Quality

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April-June 2024 - Volume 39 - Issue 2

  • Staci Reynolds, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CPHQ
  • 1057-3631
  • 1550-5065
  • 4 issues / year
  • 1.2
    5-year Impact Factor:: 1.6

In this issue: Adoption of health literacy practices has been slow, despite strong evidence of improved patient outcomes when used. Authors identified facilitators and barriers to health literacy practices, specifically teach back methods, to help inform implementation strategy selection. Many clinicians surveyed reported high acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility, but low confidence in using teach back methods with patients in a pediatric ear, nose, and throat clinic. Barriers were related to time and workflow constraints; facilitators included leadership engagement. Findings helped authors identify implementation strategies including: conducting local consensus discussions and small tests of change, obtaining patient and family feedback, and using an external facilitator, champions, and audit and feedback.

Integrating social needs screening into health care practice does not consistently occur, despite awareness of the importance of social determinants of health on outcomes. In a hemodialysis clinic, authors conducted iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to implement the Core 5 Social Determinants of Health screening tool and a staff referral process; evaluation of the implementation process was also undertaken. Of 73 patients screened, there were 32 unmet social needs identified; patients received referrals to community resources based on their needs. Implementing a standard screening tool and referral process can enhance identification of social needs.
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Staci S. Reynolds, Editor​

Associations and Predictive Pathways Between Shared Governance, Autonomy, Magnet Status, Nurse-Sensitive Indicators, and Nurse Satisfaction: A Multisite Study

McGinnis, Juli; Dee, Vivien; Rondinelli, June; More

Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 39(2):159-167, April-June 2024.

Associations and Predictive Pathways Between Shared Governance, Autonomy, Magnet Status, Nurse-Sensitive Indicators, and Nurse Satisfaction: A Multisite Study

Improving Hypertension Control in the Black Patient Population: A Quality Improvement Study of Workflow Redesign Using the Electronic Health Record to Integrate Self-Monitoring, Education, and Reporting

Duckie, Charmaine L.; Boston, Karen A.; Champagne, Brittney; More

Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 39(2):175-182, April-June 2024.

Improving Hypertension Control in the Black Patient Population: A Quality Improvement Study of Workflow Redesign Using the Electronic Health Record to Integrate Self-Monitoring, Education, and Reporting

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Critical nursing shortages have required many health care organizations to restructure nursing care delivery models. At a tertiary health care center, 150 Registered Practical Nurses were integrated into acute inpatient settings. However, a mechanism to continuously monitor the impact of this staffing change was not available. The Patient care, Utility, Logistics Systemic Evaluation (PULSE) electronic dashboard was developed, capturing metrics from multiple internal databases and presenting real-time composites of validated indicators. The PULSE dashboard is a practical means of enabling nursing leadership to evaluate the impact of change and to make evidence-informed decisions about nursing care delivery at our organization. Read the full article​ after watching this video.​
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 Transfusion of blood components has long been considered lifesaving therapy. However, blood component transfusion is routinely used as a default therapy when not clinically indicated, increasing the risk of poor patient outcomes, adverse events, pressures on blood supply and availability, and increased health care costs. Nurses have the responsibility to advocate for patients and reduce/avoid unnecessary blood transfusion through the implementation of patient blood management (PBM), including treatment of anemia, minimizing blood loss and bleeding, optimization of coagulation, and employing true patient-centered decision making. PBM should become the standard of care with the goal of improving health care quality and patient outcomes while using the multidisciplinary team for its implementation. Read the full article ​after watching this video.
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 Hospitals use traveling clinical staff (TCS) to fill personnel shortages. Although this approach may help to improve staffing ratios, it is not without risk. The inter-disciplinary team conducted an integrative literature review to determine best practices for promoting safe patient care delivery by TCS. The final synthesis included 16 articles. Evidence demonstrated the importance of pre-employment screening, standardized onboarding and orientation, and optimizing the integration of TCS into the work environment. Hospitals should use these recommendations when incorporating TCS into their teams. Read the full article​ after watching this video.
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 Debriefing tools help to guide intentional conversation that allows health care workers the opportunity to examine significant events, such as code blue or behavioral emergencies. A digital debriefing tool was developed, with pathways for “hot” and “warm” debriefs. Hot debriefs occurred immediately after the event. Warm debriefs occurred more than 24 hours after an event had taken place. Since implementation, 288 debriefs have been initiated. Actionable feedback resulted in expedited resolution of concerns or barriers to care for multiple process opportunities. Read the full article after watching this video.
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 Dashboards visually display quality and safety data to aid nurses in making informed decisions. This systematic review evaluated quality improvement (QI) dashboard characteristics associated with interventions to improve patient outcomes and positive end-user evaluation. Varied dashboard characteristics were noted with mixed patient outcomes and end-user responses. Graphs and tabular presentations were associated with improved patient outcomes whereas graphs were associated with end-user satisfaction. Benchmarks were noted with improved patient outcomes but not end-user satisfaction. Interactive dashboards were important for end-users and improved patient outcomes. Future research should focus on the use of quality dashboards in nursing practice. Read the full article​ after watching this video.















Watch our Videos on Writing Journal Articles on QI

This is the first video in our writing for publication series. The purpose of the manuscript and intended readers guide your selection of a journal for submission. Learn about directories of nursing and other journals and sending a query email.
This is the second video in our writing for publication series. Learn about the journal’s Information for Authors and why important, formats for writing different types of manuscripts, and reporting guidelines. The video will prepare you for writing papers about quality improvement and using the SQUIRE guidelines. References and tables/figures also are discussed.
​This is the final video in our writing for publication series. In this video you will get some additional tips on writing your manuscript and will learn about peer review and responding to reviewers’ comments. Other topics include authorship criteria, copyright, open access, and avoiding “predatory journals.”