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The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at University of Massachusetts Lowell is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.
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Browsing DNP Projects by Subject "Depression"
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Item Move to Improve; a Pilot Project to Evaluate Restorative Mobility Interventions in Older Adult Veterans(2020) Saindon, KellyBackground: Physical function deterioration can occur rapidly for older adults who are discharged from intensive therapy. This problem has serious implications due to the amount and the high cost of medical care and potential health risks associated with decreased mobility. Move to Improve was a pilot quality improvement project that evaluated how effective an integrated restorative nursing intervention was at attaining or maintaining the highest physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of older adult Veterans who have transitioned from intense therapy to long term care. Methods: A sample of ten geriatric Veterans were engaged in biweekly mobility group activities as well as issued activity trackers to increase engagement and collect mobility data. Pre-post test assessment using two subcomponents of the Barthel Index were used to measure mobility and transfer. Results: Eight out of nine (89%) Veterans who completed the 6-week restorative intervention maintained or increased functional status. Conclusion: The Move to Improve program effectively maintained functional status. The Veteran participants reported having no prior experience with wearable technology but use of the activity trackers engaged them in tracking their progress. The outcome of this quality improvement pilot project provides a foundation for future research.Item Passive Monitoring of Physical Activity Using a Fitbit Charge 3 in Individuals at Risk for Depression(2020) Santomas, KellyPurpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of using an activity tracker, Fitbit Charge 3, on depression scores and physical activity scores in individuals at risk for depression. Design: This was a pilot project that passively monitored step count activity using a Fitbit Charge 3 over an 8-week intervention period in individuals who were at risk for depression. Individuals were screened for depressions risk using the patient health questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2). Methods: Individuals were recruited from a convenient sample. Selection criteria was limited to adults ages 18-69 with a score >1 on the patient health questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) indicating risk for depression and who owned or had access to a smartphone. Upon enrollment, individuals completed the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) and were issued a Fitbit Charge 3. Individuals were asked to wear their Fitbit Charge 3 for 8 weeks. Step count data was automatically uploaded into the individual’s electronic health record (EHR) every 24hrs via Bluetooth integration with the Fitbit Charge 3. At the end of the 8 weeks, individuals completed the PHQ-9 and IPAQ. Step count data was downloaded from the EHR at the end of the intervention. Results: Individuals with lower PHQ-9 scores had higher IPAQ scores and higher step counts. These individuals indicated they would continue to use the Fitbit post study. In most individuals, PHQ-9 scores decreased from baseline while IPAQ scores increased. Overall step count peaked at week 5, then decreased but stayed above baseline. Conclusions: Physical activity is an important component for mental and physical wellbeing. Using commercially available devices can provide clinicians an important tool in encouraging patients to engage with improving their overall health.