Degree Name

Nursing Practice, DNP

Publication Date

4-8-2023

Upload Date

2024

First Advisor

Debra Schulte

Abstract

This quality improvement project explores outpatient treatment's role in supporting patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) after psychiatric hospitalization to reduce depression relapse risk. At an Arkansas psychiatric hospital, it was identified that re-hospitalization rates for MDD patients were increasing. The project aimed to reduce MDD re-hospitalization rates by educating the hospital's clinicians on the need for outpatient MDD treatment following hospitalization. The project leader educated the clinicians on outpatient treatment and its correlation with decreased re-hospitalization rates for MDD patients. A retrospective chart review and data analysis for hospitalized MDD patients was completed. Data collected from the charts included patient age and admission diagnosis of MDD. A Chi-Square Test was used to analyze the collected data. The data analysis revealed an 11% increase in re-hospitalization rates among MDD patients from 2022 to 2023 and a 15% difference in re-hospitalization rates for MDD patients who received outpatient treatment post-hospitalization and MDD patients who did not. MDD patients who received outpatient treatment following hospitalization were less likely to experience depression relapse and re-hospitalization. Work remains to improve the accessibility to appropriate treatment for MDD, and the results of this project help in understanding the gaps that need to be filled.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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