Date of Award

Spring 5-22-2020

Document Type

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscript

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Kevin Maxwell, PhD, DNP, FNP-BC, RN

Abstract

Abstract

Title: Transforming Clinical Care Through Sexual Wellness Education for Community College Students

Statement of the Problem: Unintended pregnancy remains a serious public health challenge throughout the world (World Health Organization [WHO], 2018). College-aged students continue to be a vulnerable population for this health issue, with estimates that 1 in 5 women will give birth before age twenty and 80% of those pregnancies unintended (Guttmacher Institute, 2019). Despite the statistics, approximately 40% of college students have received formal education on unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or effective contraception use (Diedrich, Klein, & Peipert, 2017). According to the World Health Organization, spending additional time developing quality standards for family planning programs can ensure access to preferred contraception methods (WHO, 2018). The mean monthly number of family planning visits at a community college student health center in fall 2018 semester was 9.3 with one IUD insertion. Student health center resources offered by this college were underutilized by the students.

Purpose of Project: An overview of this project is to implement evidence-based education workshops to increase college student knowledge on family planning, Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), and overall importance of sexual wellness while attending college.

Evidenced-Based Methods Utilized: The impact of community education on family planning and sexual wellness is the forefront of this DNP project. A systematic review evaluating nine studies revealed community-based interventions and education workshops can promote awareness of the multiple family planning services available to a college-aged population (Sharma, Frederiksen, Malcolm, Rollison, & Carter, 2018). Literature reveals two-year colleges have an unequal number of students who are underinsured or of low socioeconomic status (Habel et al., 2018). This project aimed to educate two-year community college students because of the increased risk for this knowledge gap due to the barrier in health care coverage (Habel et al., 2018). A cluster randomized trial with over 1500 women enrolled at 40 various health clinics further enforces that counseling on intra-uterine devices (IUDs), implants, and the most effective forms of contraception can lead to more LARC placement in clinics (Harper et al., 2015).

Innovation/Resulting Change: A total of nine sexual wellness workshops were carried out over spring semester 2019 at this community college campus. Goals included increased utilization of student health clinic resources for LARC, family planning, and improved understanding of sexual wellness. Post-implementation data collection revealed the workshops did not increase family planning visits or LARC insertions on this community college campus. However, after reviewing pre- and post-test data, the implementation of this evidence-based practice project did improve student knowledge.

Significance for Practice: One approach to achieve a critical national goal of Healthy People 2020 is by expanding reproductive health services, including patient education and counseling sessions (The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2018). Nurse practitioners can perform a role promoting sexual wellness and family planning in student health settings.

Future Recommendations: Sexual wellness workshops may have the potential to increase family planning visits and LARC use at a community college. Family planning visits can decrease health disparities and barriers to obtaining the most effective contraception, while expanding services for all reproductive-age women and men (WHO, 2018).

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