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  In Adult Patients Aged 18 and Over, What Is the Effect of Telemedicine, As Compared to Traditional Office Visits, On Missed Appointment Rates

  Tavaris Brooks, Shannon Harris, and Kristen Currie

  During the COVID-19 pandemic public health officials sought out different options to limit the spread of the disease and continue providing the much-needed care that patients deserved. Telemedicine became one of the leading initiatives to assist in caring for patients while limiting potential exposures. Prior to the pandemic telemedicine was primarily utilized in the psychology and neurology settings. The lost of life during the pandemic was unimaginable additionally, many healthcare entities begin to suffer from lack of protective supplies. Due to the unknown and newly implemented stay at home mandates made throughout the country many people became fearful of COVID-19 which led to an inundation of no-shows and missed appointments in the primary care setting. As the pandemic continues missed appointments seem to parallel its trend. The benefits of telemedicine implementation in relation to reducing missed appointments has yet to be thoroughly examined. This project aims to explore the impact of telemedicine implementation in a primary care clinic in Pensacola, Florida.

  The goal of the project is to measure patient satisfaction and evaluate the affect of telemedicine on missed appointments.

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  Reducing Blood Pressure through Education on Lifestyle Interventions

  Charlotte M. Fuller, Shannon Harris, and Mohammad A. Naeem

  The purpose of this study was to develop an educational plan for patients with elevated blood pressure to increase their knowledge and self-efficacy of lifestyle interventions proven to help lower blood pressure rates.

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  In-Patient Smoking Cessation – A Quality Improvement Project

  Shannon Harris, Lori P. Moore, Tochie Lofton, Aphry Olafsen, and Robert Percy

  This project aimed to demonstrate that in-patient smoking cessation education would prepare the patient for a serious attempt to quit smoking. Thus, this project explored in-patient smoking-cessation strategies to mitigate smoking-related hospitalizations.

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  Inhaler Education to Prevent Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma Exacerbations

  Stephanie Lamar

  The purpose of this study was to develop an educational program that will inform patients and healthcare providers about the importance of proper inhaler use and the impact of education on COPD and asthmatic patients' ability to recognize risk-triggering exacerbations resulting in deteriorating lung function (Klijnet al., 2017).

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  Benefits of Individualized Weight Loss Program in the Overweight Adult Population in Primary Care

  Susan McGuire, Shannon Harris, and Nasir Asghar

  The purpose of this project was to increase health by implementing a personalized, clinic-based weight loss program for overweight/obese patients leading to a decrease in weight, BMI, and waist circumference and an increase in muscle mass by using resistance training (RT) exercises as an adjunct to diet, therefore helping to decrease comorbidities associated with obesity. This project aimed to use strength training exercises as an adjunct therapy to lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, counseling) to decrease body weight by 8 pounds, decrease BMI by at least 1%, decrease waist circumference by at least 1 inch, and increase muscle mass percentage by at least 1% among overweight/obese adults within two months of intervention. The project was successful in helping participants to decrease weight and BMI but was unsuccessful in reducing waist circumference or increasing muscle mass.

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  Improving Annual Diabetic Foot Examinations at a Rural Primary Care Clinic

  Michaela Moore, Shannon Harris, and Christy Mnzava

  The goal of this quality improvement project was to increase the number of adult patients who receive an annual diabetic foot examination through the education and training of clinicians and support staff.

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  Implementing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in a Youth Regional Treatment Center

  Lauren Russell-Smith

  In 2019, 57% of Adolescents who have substance or alcohol abuse disorders experienced at least one ACE, and 25 % experienced two or more ACEs; this means that over half of the patients admitted to an adolescent substance and alcohol abuse program have experienced childhood trauma (Gomez et al., 2017).

  This study investigated ACE awareness amongst staff working with a population known to have high ACE scores. The intended purpose was to evaluate staff understanding of ACEs and their impact on patient satisfaction scores.

  The AIM of this project was to increase staff awareness of ACE to 85% and increase patient satisfaction scores within a 4-month time frame.

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  Diabetes Type 2 Management

  Thuy H. Trinh, Shannon Harris, and Anthony Labady

  Diabetes is a complex and chronic disease. Patients with diabetes may suffer complications such as microvascular and macrovascular diseases [1]. In 2018, the prevalence of diabetes was estimated to affect 34.2 million people, or 10.5% of the US population [2]. About 1 in 10 adults in Georgia has diabetes, a health condition that can be prevented with weight loss and lifestyle changes [3]. In 2018, diabetes-related emergencies accounted for 17 million emergency room visits, with 248,000 for hyperglycemia and 242,000 for hypoglycemia [4]. The purpose of this study was to implement a personalized, clinic-based diabetes management program with healthy lifestyles, reduce hemoglobin A1c, and prevent diabetic complications.