Date of Award

5-2-2014

Degree Type

Evidence-Based Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

First Advisor

Amy C. Cory

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a silent and potentially debilitating chronic illness. In 2012, the CDC reported that 4.5 million women over the age of 50 were diagnosed with osteoporosis in the United States. Within the next 20 years, 41 million women worldwide are projected to have osteoporosis. The annual financial burden of osteoporosis is estimated to be 19 billion dollars. The objective of this evidence-based practice project was to answer the clinical question: In young adult collegiate females, how does an osteoporosis educational intervention compared to current education effect osteoporosis knowledge and self-efficacy of osteoporosis prevention over a one-month time period? The ACE Star Model and the health belief model were used as frameworks for the project, which was implemented at a university in northwest Indiana. Freshman female kinesiology students (N = 60) were followed to assess the impact of an in-service osteoporosis educational intervention. The intervention consisted of a slide show presentation guided by the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), group discussion, and NOF take-home materials. Demographic data was collected at baseline. Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT) and Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale (OSES) were collected pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 3-weeks post-intervention. Results were assessed with repeated measures analysis of variance with significance determined as p < 0.05. The OKT total results were significant (F (2, 56) = 89.234, p = 0.000) as well as all subclasses of risk factors (F (2, 56) = 46.063, p = 0.000), nutrition (F (2, 56) = 64.745, p = 0.000), and exercise (F (2, 56) = 70.068, p = 0.000). The OSES total results were significant (F (2, 44) = 3.986, p = 0.026); however, the subclasses of calcium (F (2, 44) = 2.370, p = 0.105) and exercise (F (2, 44) = 2.584, p = 0.087) were not significant. Future projects with similar objectives could provide promising results with young adults to improve knowledge and self-efficacy of prevention of chronic illnesses like osteoporosis.

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