Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing (ND)

Department

Nursing

First Committee Member

Kathleen Thimsen

Second Committee Member

Necole Leland

Third Committee Member

Margaret Trnka

Fourth Committee Member

Nicole DeVille

Number of Pages

129

Abstract

Purpose/Aim:

This project aimed to promote the use of a standardized checklist for newborn care that incorporated evidence-based practices. The goal was to maintain newborn temperatures in the normothermic range of 36.5–37.5 °C while receiving care in the hospital setting.

Purpose/Aim:

This project aimed to promote the use of a standardized checklist for newborn care that incorporated evidence-based practices. The goal was to maintain newborn temperatures in the normothermic range of 36.5–37.5 °C while receiving care in the hospital setting.

Description of the Undertaking/Best Practice:

The checklist that was provided included a series of evidence-based actions to promote and advance evidence-based practices using an educational intervention method. Nurses were introduced to the checklist, including rationales for actions to prevent neonatal hypothermia. These items were meant to guide evidence-based practice and reduce the incidence of neonatal hypothermia.

Framework or Model:

Guided by a Quality Improvement (QI) Framework, this project employed the Plan-Do-StudyAct (PDSA) methodology to implement a standardized checklist for neonatal hypothermia prevention.

Methods/Process:

The nurses employed a validated assessment instrument pre-intervention to identify gaps in knowledge, and targeted education was subsequently delivered to them in the areas of deficiency. Newborn temperature data were collected for 100 random newborns born each month over the two months prior to project implementation, serving as the baseline data to identify the prevalence of hypothermic incident rates. Following the educational intervention and checklist implementation, newborn temperature data linked to checklists were collected and reviewed over four months from the EHR in alignment with institutional monitoring policy.

Conclusions/Implications:

Implementation of a standardized neonatal thermoregulation checklist was feasible but did not significantly reduce hypothermia during the project period (17.6% pre-intervention vs. 19.4% post-intervention). Checklist completion and documentation of key thermoregulation practices were inconsistent, likely limiting intervention effectiveness. However, the project identified important system-level barriers, including workflow integration challenges and suboptimal delivery room temperatures. These findings highlight the need to embed thermoregulation practices into existing clinical workflows and electronic health record systems to improve adherence and sustainability. Future initiatives should prioritize system-level integration and environmental controls to enhance neonatal outcomes.

Keywords

Neonatal hypothermia; Newborn care; PDSA cycle; Quality improvement; Standardized checklist; Thermoregulation

Disciplines

Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

File Format

PDF

File Size

2500 KB

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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