UB SON PhD Student’s Manuscript Accepted for Heart & Lung Publication
Published April 2, 2021
An integrative review from UB SON PhD student Kathryn Ledwin, MS, FNP-C, was accepted for publication in Heart & Lung: The Journal of Cardiopulmonary and Acute Care, a peer-reviewed nursing journal and the official publication of The American Association of Heart Failure Nurses.
“As my first formal publication, I’m excited and encouraged to be adding to the nursing body of knowledge and my practice areas of community health nursing,” Ledwin says. “I’m hopeful that this publication will inform not only my own dissertation work but also future research of other nursing professionals and scholars.”
Her manuscript, titled “The Impact of Nurse-Led Community-Based Models of Care on Hospital Admission Rates in Heart Failure Patients: An Integrative Review,” found that community-based nurse-led models of care have the potential to reduce admission rates in heart failure patients. Although there has been significant prior research, no reviews have focused on identifying the best combination of nurse-led models to reduced hospital admissions in this population. Her paper was completed in collaboration with expert faculty to assist and guide the research, synthesis and reporting process.
“It’s the collaboration with faculty that make this experience both an excellent academic exercise and rewarding experience for a novice researcher learning to navigate academia and the publication process," Ledwin says.
According to Rebecca Lorenz, PhD, RN, assistant dean of the UB SON PhD program and Ledwin’s faculty advisor, nurse-led community-based interventions are being increasingly used because of the significant health care spending and reduced reimbursement associated with hospital admission and readmission due to heart failure exacerbation.
“This integrative review includes important findings to guide the development and implementation of nurse-led community-based interventions to reduce hospital admissions among heart failure patients,” Lorenz says. “Nurses are able to use these findings to plan evidence-based care using a combination of interventions to successfully reduce hospital admissions. It’s also important to note that high-intensity advanced practice nurse-led models of care may reduce hospital admissions in heart failure patients.”
