| Course | DNP 899 DNP Project Capstone |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Dissemination products paper |
| Length | About 1,007 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | DNP |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for DNP 899 Module 6
Something Other Practices Can Pick Up: A Screening Toolkit and a Practice Brief From a Maternal Depression DNP Project
Student Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, Aspen University
DNP 899: DNP Project Capstone
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Something Other Practices Can Pick Up: A Screening Toolkit and a Practice Brief From a Maternal Depression DNP Project
The most useful product of a practice project is often not a paper but a set of tools another team can pick up and use. This paper describes two dissemination products from my DNP project on screening mothers for depression during their babies' checkups. The first is an implementation toolkit for the health system's three other pediatric practices. The second is a practice brief for nurses across the state, published through the state nursing association's newsletter. For each, the paper explains the audience, the content, how it was tested and how its use will be tracked.
Why Two Products
Dissemination works best when the message, the messenger and the channel are matched to the audience and to the decision it faces (Brownson et al., 2018). The other practices in the health system face a practical decision, whether and how to start screening, and they need tools more than evidence. Nurses across the state face a broader decision, whether screening at well-child visits is worth pursuing in their own settings, and they need a short, credible account of what one practice did and what happened. One product could not serve both.
The Toolkit
The toolkit gathers everything the first practice built, organized so that a practice manager can see at a glance what is needed. Its eight components are listed in the table.
| Component | What it contains |
|---|---|
| One-page overview | What the program is, whom it serves and what it takes |
| Protocol | Steps after each score, including the self-harm item and emergencies |
| Questionnaire guide | The ten-item scale in English and Spanish, scoring and when to give it |
| Scripts | Introduction to the mother and the warm handoff, written with parents |
| Workflow diagram | Who does what from check-in to the follow-up call |
| Chart build notes | The confidential field, portal settings and report query |
| Training plan | A one-hour session for medical assistants and clinicians, with practice cases |
| Measures | Screening rate, positive rate, handoffs and connection to care, with a monthly template |
Grounding the Toolkit
Every component traces to evidence or to the project's experience. The protocol puts into practice the professional guidance to screen mothers during the first months of well-child care and to connect them with treatment and community resources (Earls et al., 2019). The questionnaire guide uses the ten-item scale, which was designed for community screening and can be completed in about five minutes (Cox et al., 1987). The scripts and the workflow came from the project's own lessons, including the change that flags a positive self-harm item before the infant's examination begins.
Testing the Toolkit
Before release, the toolkit was tested at one of the other practices. Its practice manager and a medical assistant were given the toolkit without any briefing and asked to plan a start. They identified two gaps. The workflow assumed a social worker on site, which their practice lacked, so a section on video handoffs and a list of regional referral options were added. And the chart build notes assumed a technical knowledge they did not have, so a short request form for the health system's informatics team was added instead. The second practice now plans to start next quarter.
The Practice Brief
The brief for nurses across the state runs to about 600 words in six parts: why pediatric settings matter for maternal depression, what the practice did, what happened, what it took, what the limits are and how to get the toolkit. It leads with the connection to care, three in four mothers who screened positive connected within 30 days, because that is the result most relevant to nurses deciding whether screening is worth the effort. It states plainly that the results come from one practice without a comparison group, and it avoids clinical detail that nurses outside pediatrics would not need. The newsletter's editor asked for one change, a sentence on how the practice handles mothers who decline, which was added.
Protecting Mothers in Every Product
Both products had to protect the mothers whose experience they describe. Neither names the practice, and neither includes a case that could identify a family, even in disguised form. The toolkit's measures template counts screens and referrals but has no field for names. The brief reports only totals, and the one story it tells, about a mother who said she agreed to talk to the social worker because the script made clear the questions were about support rather than reporting, was approved in writing by the family advisory group as a composite of several comments. These steps matter because stigma is one reason mothers hesitate to answer honestly, and a careless product could make the next mother more wary.
What Neither Product Includes
Some material stayed in the manuscript. Neither product reports the analysis of individual change among rescreened mothers, which needs careful explanation of its limits. Neither describes the one missed safety screen in detail; the toolkit's protocol simply includes the fix. And neither makes claims about infant outcomes, which the project did not measure. Leaving these out keeps both products short and accurate.
Measuring Use
Each product has a simple measure. For the toolkit, the measure is the number of practices that start screening within a year and their screening rates at three months, reported through the health system's quality committee. For the brief, the measure is the number of requests for the toolkit from outside the health system, tracked through the contact address at the end of the brief. The team will look at both measures again at the six-month and one-year marks.
The practice manager owns both measures.
Conclusion
The toolkit gives the health system's other practices everything needed to start screening, tested by a practice that tried to use it cold. The brief gives nurses across the state a short, honest account of what one practice achieved and how to learn more. Both are designed to be used by others, which is the point of dissemination.
Both went out the same month.
References
Brownson, R. C., Eyler, A. A., Harris, J. K., Moore, J. B., & Tabak, R. G. (2018). Getting the word out: New approaches for disseminating public health science. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 24(2), 102-111. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000000673
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150(6), 782-786. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.150.6.782
Earls, M. F., Yogman, M. W., Mattson, G., Rafferty, J., & Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. (2019). Incorporating recognition and management of perinatal depression into pediatric practice. Pediatrics, 143(1), Article e20183259. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3259
Reading the DNP 899 Module 6 assignment instructions
Dissemination is part of the DNP 899 requirements in Aspen's catalog, which pairs it with the defense; the module prompt is not public, so that pairing is the basis for this example. A dissemination product assignment usually asks you to create something that shares your findings with your organization, your profession or both, and to explain its design. Your chair may accept a toolkit, brief, article, poster or presentation. Some programs require evidence that the product was delivered. Check the requirements, and test your product with someone from the intended audience before you call it finished. Choose the product type that fits the decision your audience faces, not the one easiest to produce.
Inside the DNP 899 Module 6 example
About 1,000 words fill ten sections. The introduction explains why tools can matter more than papers. Why two products applies a dissemination framework to two audiences. The toolkit is described through a table of eight components. Grounding the toolkit ties components to the professional recommendation, the screening tool's development and the project's own lessons. Testing the toolkit reports a cold test at another practice. The practice brief is outlined with its lead finding and the editor's change. A section on protecting mothers explains how privacy and stigma shaped both products. What neither product includes lists omissions, measuring use sets simple measures, and the conclusion restates the aim.
Where the marks sit in the DNP 899 Module 6 rubric
Rubrics for a dissemination product reward audience fit, completeness and evidence of usability. Audience fit is shown by building two products for two decisions, and the margin notes explain that listing the toolkit's contents shows it can be used without the author. Completeness appears in a toolkit that covers protocol, tools, workflow, technical setup, training and measures. Usability is demonstrated by a cold test that found and fixed two gaps. Attention to privacy and stigma shows ethical awareness in dissemination. Formatting marks go to the APA table and to exact references for the dissemination framework, the professional recommendation and the screening tool's original study.
DNP 899 Module 6 help from the desk
Students often produce a product that summarizes their project rather than one someone else can use. Ask what the audience needs in order to act. Another common mistake is never testing the product; give it to someone in the intended audience without explanation and watch where they get stuck. Papers also forget privacy, especially with sensitive topics such as mental health, where a careless example can deter future patients. Protect identities. Some products overclaim, carrying causal language the project cannot support. Keep claims to what the data show. Finally, set a way to know whether the product was used, even a simple count of requests or adoptions. Keep a copy of every version you share, since later products should match the earlier ones.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More DNP 899 and DNP sample papers
- DNP 899 Module 1: Revising the Final Chapter After Feedback
- DNP 899 Module 2: Clinical Significance Beyond P Values
- DNP 899 Module 3: Interprofessional Collaboration: What Worked and What Did Not
- DNP 899 Module 4: The Project as Scholarship
- DNP 899 Module 5: Leadership Development: Decisions and Conflicts
- DNP 899 Module 7: The Defense Presentation
- DNP 899 Module 8: Final Reflection on Growth
- DNP880 Module 3: PDSA Implementation Plan
- DNP 852B Module 2: The Project Poster: One Message, One Figure
- DNP850 Module 1: DNP Role Paper
- DNP 851A Module 3: Implementation Log and Fidelity
DNP 899 Module 6 questions, answered
What does DNP 899 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's DNP 899 description includes dissemination of the project's findings, so creating a dissemination product for the organization and the profession is a typical assignment. Check your classroom for the prompt.
What makes a good DNP dissemination product?
One matched to an audience and its decision, complete enough to be used without the author, tested by someone in that audience and paired with a simple way to track whether it is used.
What should an implementation toolkit include?
An overview, the protocol, the tools and scripts, a workflow, technical setup notes, a training plan and the measures to track, all tested by a team that has not done the work before.
Where can I find a free DNP 899 Module 6 sample paper?
The complete paper on the toolkit and practice brief is shown on this page with notes beside each part, free to read. It is the sixth DNP 899 sample on the maternal depression screening capstone, before the defense slides.
What dissemination product fits DNP 899 Module 6?
One matched to an audience's decision: an implementation toolkit for practices that might adopt the change, a short practice brief for the wider profession, a poster, or an article, each tested with its intended readers.