DNP Scholarly Projects
Abstract
College students are a priority preventative healthcare population that can engage in high risk behaviors which may concurrently increase the potential for unsafe sexual practices, including contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Early education, screening, treatment, and partner notification are important interventions for breaking the chain of transmission and recurrence in relation to preventing poor health outcomes and mitigating college dropout rates. The aim of this quality improvement project was to determine if the reduction in STI screening costs for college students (aged 18-30 years old) would increase the amount of STI screenings conducted at a university health center over the course of an academic semester while evaluating our ability to achieve improved quality of care at a reduced cost, along with improved STI reporting and documentation. This study was conducted through retrospective chart reviews of STI-related visits and utilized the RADAR Matrix to provide a guiding, iterative mechanism to continuously reassess goals and outcomes defined in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between a university health center and the state department of health (DOH) laboratory. The project failed to increase the amount of STI screenings most likely due to the emergence of COVID-19, but resulted in improved quality of care for students, improved STI-related visit documentation and reporting, and significantly reduced costs for STI screening for collegiate students at a Southeastern private university campus.
Date
Spring 4-17-2021
First Advisor
Dr. Steven Busby
Scholarly Project Team Member
Dr. Christian Williams
Scholarly Project Team Member
Dr. David Phillippi
Department
Nursing, School of
College
Health Sciences & Nursing, Gordon E. Inman College of
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree
Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Degree Level
Doctoral
Degree Grantor
Belmont University
Keywords
sexually transmitted infections, college students, young adults, college health, young adult preventive health, college student reproductive health, public health systems
Recommended Citation
Guidera, Amy, "Implementing the Quality of Care Partnership to Reduce the Cost of Screenings for Sexually Transmitted Infections on a Southeastern College Campus" (2021). DNP Scholarly Projects. 53.
https://repository.belmont.edu/dnpscholarlyprojects/53
