First Advisor

Suit, Louise

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

School

Loretto Heights School of Nursing

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

47 pages

Abstract

Executive Summary
Nurses “play a vital role in preparing, educating, encouraging, and supporting women to breastfeed and are instrumental in facilitating initiation and continuation of breastfeeding” (AWHONN, 2015, p. 146). However, most nurses are not adequately prepared in their education to assist mothers with breastfeeding (USBC, 2010; USHHS, 2011). For this reason, an evidencebased practice (EBP) project in which an educational intervention (breastfeeding class) was completed. A pre-test/post-test format assessed the effect of a one hour breastfeeding class on nurses’ self-efficacy with breastfeeding. The purpose of the project was to increase breastfeeding self-efficacy and knowledge in nurses at VVMC and improve breastfeeding rates for the agency. The study’s objective was to improve patient outcomes by increasing nurses’ breastfeeding self-efficacy and knowledge. The project plan included: identifying the problem, performing a literature review, creating a formalized breastfeeding program, modifying an instrument for self-efficacy evaluation, giving the breastfeeding class, collecting and analyzing the data, and reporting the findings. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Nurses’ average age was 40.58 years, and average years in nursing practice was 14.53 years. The mean score pre-test (76.0731) and post-test (90.3255) showed an improvement in nurses’ self-efficacy after the breastfeeding class with statistical significance (t = -14.251, p < .001, CI: - 293.428 - -219.676). Breastfeeding rates increased from a low of 63.88% before education to a high of 87.5% after education. The breastfeeding class improved the nurses’ breastfeeding selfefficacy scores and improved breastfeeding rates at VVMC.

Date of Award

Spring 2016

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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