Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Program

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Degree Track

Public Health Nurse Leader

Year Degree Awarded

2016

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/8542836

Month Degree Awarded

May

Keywords

pedometer, nurse obesity, weight loss, Body Mass Index

Advisor

Karen A Kalmakis

DNP Project Chair

Karen A Kalmakis

DNP Project Member Name

Jean E DeMartinis

DNP Project Outside Member Name

Rhonda Dailey

Abstract

Nurses are at risk for obesity due to shift work, long hours, abnormal eating patterns and job stress. Obesity places nurses at risk for chronic health conditions such as diabetes and coronary artery disease. The goal for this project was to translate evidence of weight loss using the Step it Up Program by launching a pedometer-based walking program for nurses. Measurement methods included pre-intervention measurements of waist and hip circumference in order to calculate waist/hip ratio, and calculate Body Mass Index using a standard BMI Calculator. Fifteen nurses from an inpatient unit of a hospital in southeastern Ohio were issued a FitBit to record the number of steps taken per day, and were then challenged to increase the number of steps per day. Monthly waist and hip measurements, BMI, and steps per day were obtained, demonstrating a total weight loss of 112.2 pounds for the group over a three-month intervention period. The waist/hip ratio for the group decreased from 0.94 to 0.93 and the participants stated that wearing the device and utilizing the phone app provided positive motivation. The nurses involved in the intervention were motivated to walk more as a result of wearing the devices, as they were more aware of how little they were moving.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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Nursing Commons

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