Award Date

5-1-2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing (ND)

Department

Nursing

First Committee Member

Jennifer Kawi

Second Committee Member

Nancy Menzel

Third Committee Member

Kendall Hartley

Number of Pages

81

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a complex and challenging disorder of unknown etiology; however the management of patients with fibromyalgia is becoming facilitated more often by Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). Unfortunately, the lack of clarity in diagnosis, variances in practice guidelines, time constraints and the resources required for APRNs to adequately manage fibromyalgia can be extensive. The evidence supporting nonpharmacological strategies is strong; yet implementation of these strategies into routine care has not been sufficient.

Substantial research in the past five years has resulted in new diagnostic criteria intended to simplify the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Moreover, new clinical practice guidelines stress the importance of utilizing health technologies to educate patients about fibromyalgia beginning at diagnosis and continuing throughout management. Included in the new practice guidelines is FibroGuide, an interactive educational DVD-ROM shown to reduce symptom severity and enhance self-management for patients with fibromyalgia.

The following Capstone Project implemented FibroGuide into the routine care of 35 patients living with fibromyalgia. The FibroGuide project evaluated two outcomes of interest: patient perspectives of health education using health technology to assist in self-management, and overall effect on function after implementing FibroGuide. After 12 weeks of using FibroGuide, participants showed a significant improvement in function (p = .017) and thought FibroGuide and health technology had potential toward enhancing self-management. Implementing FibroGuide into routine care of patients with fibromyalgia had clinical application in the context of providing evidence-based care that can improve overall function and facilitate self-management.

Keywords

Fibromyalgia; Nurse and patient; Nursing; Pain—Treatment; Patient education

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Science and Mathematics Education

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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