Academic Journal

Implementation of a Nurse-Initiated Protocol for Prenatal Care in a Carceral Setting.

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: Implementation of a Nurse-Initiated Protocol for Prenatal Care in a Carceral Setting.
Συγγραφείς: Stevenson J, Knittel AK, Crowell NA, Heitzler ET
Πηγή: Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN [J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs] 2026 Jul; Vol. 55 (4), pp. 433-441. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Dec 31.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 8503123 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1552-6909 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00900311 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Publication: 2016- : New York : Elsevier
Original Publication: [Philadelphia, PA] : J.B. Lippincott, [c1985-
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Prenatal Care*/methods , Prenatal Care*/organization & administration , Prenatal Care*/standards , Clinical Protocols* , Prisoners*, Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Adult ; Quality Improvement ; Health Services for Prisoners ; Southeastern United States ; Nurse's Role
Περίληψη: Objective: To evaluate the effect of a nurse-initiated protocol on the times to order and implement prenatal care, nurses' intentions to change practice based on an educational session, and nurses' perceived barriers to initiation of the protocol in a carceral facility.
Design: Quality improvement project.
Setting/local Problem: Southeastern United States carceral facility.
Participants: A total of 44 nurses employed by a state women's carceral facility.
Intervention/measurements: Participants attended a 30-min educational session on a nurse-initiated intake protocol, including use of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale. The session was offered multiple times during shifts to maximize attendance. Participants then completed an adapted Continuing Professional Development-Reaction Questionnaire. We abstracted de-identified data from the charts of adult incarcerated women in the pre-implementation (n = 26) and post-implementation (n = 24) phases. We compared time to order (interval from admission to entry of order for a laboratory test, medication, or intervention) and time to implementation (interval from entry of order to initiation of the laboratory test, medication, or intervention) before and after implementation of the protocol. We assessed barriers to implementing the protocol 3 months after implementation.
Results: The time to order a prenatal diet and schedule a first obstetric appointment decreased significantly (p < .001), whereas the time to order prenatal labs increased significantly (p = .03) after implementation of the protocol. We identified the following themes as barriers to implementing the protocol: Lack of Integration of the Protocol Into the Electronic Health Record, Interruptions in the Flow of Care, and Limited Resources.
Conclusions: Use of a nurse-initiated protocol standardized and improved the timeliness of the delivery of prenatal care in a carceral facility and has the potential to enhance health care quality and maternal-fetal outcomes in this high-risk population.
(Copyright © 2026 Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors report no conflicts of interest or relevant financial relationships. Declaration of AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process During the preparation of this work, the authors used Grammarly to help with language and readability. After using this tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: disparities; health care; incarceration; nursing assessment; prenatal care; treatment delay
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260103 Date Completed: 20260714 Latest Revision: 20260714
Update Code: 20260714
DOI: 10.1016/j.jogn.2025.12.006
PMID: 41483873
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
Περιγραφή
ISSN:1552-6909
DOI:10.1016/j.jogn.2025.12.006