Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
9-28-2026
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Anthony Morgan
Abstract
Inconsistent discharge education and variable use of structured discharge tools can affect the consistency of transitions from inpatient behavioral health care. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice quality improvement project was to improve nurse discharge competency by implementing standardized discharge education and reinforcing use of a structured discharge tool in a rural inpatient behavioral health hospital. A quantitative, quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was used over 12 weeks with 16 eligible registered and licensed practical nurses. Organizational readiness was assessed at baseline, and nurse self-efficacy was measured before and after implementation. Discharge-tool adherence and 30-day readmissions were also evaluated. Mean self-efficacy increased from 59.14 (SD = 24.65) to 88.75 (SD = 12.04), t(15) = -4.97, p < .001, with a large effect (Cohen's d = 1.24). All 83 eligible discharges met adherence criteria. Thirty-day readmissions decreased from 15 of 83 patients (18.1%) before implementation to 5 of 83 (6.0%) after implementation; the association between measurement period and readmission status was significant, χ²(1, N = 166) = 5.68, p = .017, φ = .19. Findings support continued standardized discharge education, structured-tool use, auditing, and leadership reinforcement while recognizing that the project design does not establish causality.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Williams, Valina, "Quality Improvement Project: Improving Nurse Discharge Competency Through Standardized Education and Discharge Tools in an Inpatient Behavioral Health Hospital" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 415.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/415
