<p> PRN psychotropic medication administration is a common practice used by psychiatric RNs in acute inpatient mental health settings to manage anxiety and agitation in patients, and as a result, there are high incidences of PRN psychotropic medication administration (Mugoya & Kampfe, 2010). There is limited documentation indicating that therapeutic non-pharmacological interventions are utilized prior to PRN psychotropic medication administration (Curtis et al., 2007). The purpose of this scholarly project was to determine what non-pharmacological interventions are used by mental health RNs prior to or in lieu of administering PRN psychotropic medication to manage anxiety and agitation in adult psychiatric hospitalized patients. Another aim of this project was to determine what factors influence mental health RNs' decisions to administer PRN psychotropic medications. A descriptive study was conducted. Two survey-type self-reporting tools were used. Twenty RNs completed Nursing Surveys. Thirteen RNs completed both Nursing Surveys and Nursing Intervention Tracking Forms. Findings from this study revealed that non-pharmacological interventions successfully resolved problems over 1/3 of the time and may prevent the use of PRN psychotropic medications. In cases where PRN psychotropic medication was not administered, distraction was the non-pharmacological intervention most often used. The most common factor influencing RNs' decisions to administer PRN psychotropic medications was a high level of anxiety persistent after non-pharmacological interventions were used. This study reinforces the importance of RNs using non-pharmacological interventions to manage patients exhibiting signs or symptoms of anxiety or agitation.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3681319 |
| Date | 18 February 2015 |
| Creators | Leckey, Donna |
| Publisher | Carlow University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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