Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
9-29-2026
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Alisha McAfee
Abstract
Medication adherence is important in psychiatric care, as nonadherence can contribute to poor health outcomes and increased use of healthcare services. A needs assessment at an outpatient psychiatric clinic identified inconsistent medication adherence education, with only 30% of providers routinely providing education and 20% using a structured approach. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate structured provider education, with the aim of assessing changes in provider confidence and the frequency of medication adherence education over eight weeks. Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model guided project implementation, while the Donabedian Model was used for project evaluation. A quantitative, one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design included eight psychiatric healthcare providers. Motivational interviewing and Teach-Back strategies were included in the evidence-based intervention. Provider confidence was measured with the five-item Confidence Scale. The Education Tracking Tool tracked medication adherence education during medication management encounters. Mean confidence scores increased from 17.75 (SD = 3.20) to 23.75 (SD = 2.19), a 33.8% increase. The increase was statistically significant, t(7) = 3.97, p = .005, 95% confidence interval [2.43, 9.57], with a large effect (Cohen’s d = 1.40). Medication adherence education was documented in all 100 tracked encounters, with 93% including all eight education components. Limitations included the small sample and one-group design. Findings indicated a positive change in provider confidence following structured education, and providers consistently provided medication adherence education. The findings suggest that structured provider education should continue at the project site and may also be useful in psychiatric nursing practice.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Ezeh, Tina, "The Impact of Provider Education on Medication Adherence in an Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 399.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/399
