Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Project

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Project Mentor

Janiece DeSocio

Readers

Malia Alexander

Abstract

Depression and suicidality rates among U.S. college students are rising, along with a surge in urgent mental health needs. Behavioral health care has traditionally been siloed and outside the doors of primary care. Integrating behavioral health services into primary care is an optimal access point for the timely diagnosis of college-age youth to be screened and assessed for mental health care. This program evaluation project sought to measure staff and provider confidence, competence, and satisfaction in treating and managing college student mental health conditions before and after hiring a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) in an on-campus university primary care clinic. The results indicate that despite a small sample size, integrating a PMHNP in the primary care setting can improve providers' satisfaction across all aspects of providing mental healthcare.

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