Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2025
Language
English
Document Type
DNP Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Dr. Christi Nguyen
Abstract
Background: Heart failure (HF) affects over 6.7 million adults in the United States, resulting in frequent hospitalizations and readmissions, increased mortality, and billions of dollars spent annually on healthcare costs. Reducing readmission rates is a priority for the healthcare industry.
Objective: This evidence-based practice project aimed to reduce HF readmission rates through a bundled approach to address socioeconomic factors that place patients at higher risk for readmission, provide patient-centered education for HF management at home, and provide follow-up phone calls after discharge to assess patient symptoms.
Methods: English-speaking patients, aged 65 or older, with any active diagnosis of HF were assessed using the Project BOOST: 8P Screening Tool to determine risk factors for readmissions. Based on the screening results, risk-specific interventions were implemented. Education on HF zones using the standard toolkit was provided to the patients and follow-up phone calls were completed after discharge reinforcing this education. The project took place over eight weeks.
Results: No statistically significant reduction (p= 0.30) in readmission rates was noted during the project.
Conclusion: Reducing HF readmissions requires individualized plans that are complex and consume a high amount of human capital resources to implement.
Keywords
Heart failure, Readmission, Readmission risk, Evidence-based practice, Reduction, Bundle, Project BOOST, Phone calls
Disciplines
Critical Care Nursing | Nursing Administration | Public Health and Community Nursing
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Zepeda, Chelsea, "Evidence-Based Discharge Bundle to Reduce Heart Failure Readmissions" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects. 107.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/nursing_dnpprojects/107
Included in
Critical Care Nursing Commons, Nursing Administration Commons, Public Health and Community Nursing Commons