• Theresa M Tetuan, Ruth Ohm, Matthew H Herynk, Mendy Ebberts, Toni Wendling, and Michael C Mosier.
• Author Affiliations: Clinic Nurse Manager (Dr Tetuan), Annual Wellness Visit Nurse (Ms Ebberts), Staffing Manager (Ms Wendling), Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Cotton-O'Neil Clinic, Topeka; Associate Professor (Dr Ohm), School of Nursing, Baker University, Topeka; Manager, Oncology Research and Program Development (Dr Herynk), Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Cotton-O'Neil Cancer Center, Topeka; Professor, Statistics (Dr Mosier), Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas.
• J Nurs Adm. 2014 May 1; 44 (5): 270-5.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the nurse-run annual wellness visit (AWV) in improving adherence to cancer screening recommendations for colonoscopies and/or mammograms.BackgroundThe Affordable Health Care Act provides Medicare beneficiaries access to AWVs. Nurse-run AWVs offer individualized education, reinforce health screening recommendations, and may enhance the patients' intent to complete the screenings.MethodsA nonexperimental comparative study was conducted using data collected from chart audits comparing patients who only attended the AWV, patients who attended the AWV linked with a physician visit, and patients who have not attended an AWV.ResultsPatients who attended the AWV showed greater adherence to mammogram completion regardless of the link to the physician follow-up visit. Differences in adherence to colonoscopy recommendations were not significant, likely because of the low number of colonoscopies reported.ConclusionsNurse-run AWV clinics are associated with adherence to mammograms and show promise of increasing colonoscopy compliance.

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