Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
12-1-2025
First Advisor
Sandy King
Second Advisor
Veronica Arrendondo
Abstract
Shared decision-making (SDM) is the best practice in contraceptive counseling, yet it remains underutilized in primary care, particularly within underserved communities. Limited SDM use reduces patient autonomy, weakens satisfaction, and contributes to inconsistent documentation. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to evaluate whether an educational intervention on SDM for contraceptive counseling improved provider self-efficacy and the electronic medical record (EMR) documentation of SDM practices. Guided by Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and Lewin’s Change Management Model, the project sought to enhance provider confidence and foster sustainable behavioral change. A quasi-experimental, one-group pretest–posttest design was implemented at a rural Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Mississippi. One nurse practitioner and two nurses participated in a 30-minute PowerPoint-based training session emphasizing SDM techniques, followed by pre- and post-intervention surveys using Susan Grundy’s Confidence Scale (C-Scale) and an EMR documentation audit. Results demonstrated that the mean C-Scale scores increased from 3.0 to 4.37, indicating improved provider self-efficacy. EMR documentation of SDM rose from 20% to 80%, confirming measurable practice change. The findings suggest that even brief, theory-based educational interventions can significantly enhance provider confidence and consistency in patient-centered contraceptive counseling. Sustaining SDM education as part of annual competencies may improve reproductive autonomy, reduce disparities, and strengthen evidence-based nursing practice in resource-limited settings.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Butler, Brittney, "Shared Decision Making in Women's Health: A Quality Improvement Project" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 277.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/277
