NUR-550 Benchmark – Evidence-Based Practice Project: PICOT Paper
Benchmark – Evidence-Based Practice Project: PICOT Paper
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a challenging problem for many Americans aged over eighteen years. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcohol use disorder (AUD) entails a condition characterized by inability to stop or control use of alcohol despite the adverse social, occupational and health effects. Nurse practitioners, especially psychiatry nurses, have a responsibility to develop evidence-based care interventions to help patients with AUD (Rombouts et al., 2019). The NIAA asserts that close to 15 million individuals in the country suffer from AUD. The purpose of this paper is to describe the PICOT for the evidence-based practice proposal for AUD interventions.
PICOT Question/Statement
In individuals from low socioeconomic status and poor educational levels suffering from alcohol use disorder (AUD) (P), does offering behavioral treatments and coordinated care with other providers (I) compared to non-interventions (C) lead to improvement in handling of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and treatment of alcohol use disorder (0) within 12 months (T)?
Population’s Demographic and Health Concerns
The population demographic affected by the problem include an estimated 15 million individuals that suffer from AUD. Close to 5.8 percent or about 14.4 million adults aged 18 and above had the condition in 2018. According to the figures, about 9.2 million were men while women were about 5.3 million. The report also shows that about 400,0000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had AUD over the same period (NIAAA, n.d). The implication is that millions of individuals suffer from alcohol use disorder and demonstrate a host of symptoms that are diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Description of Proposed Evidence-based Intervention and Incorporation of Health Policies and Goals
The need to shed light on barriers to provision of quality nursing care for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and enhancing clinical competencies for the care of hospitalized patients with AUD is essential in addressing the problem. In their study, Witkiewitz et al. (2019) observe that clinicians should leverage advances in science and treatment as one of the ways to address the existing barriers and improving competencies in caring for these individuals. Shedding light on barriers to provision of quality care entails knowing the challenges that clinicians and other providers face in their efforts to offer treatment to these individuals. Alcohol use disorders are considered as some of the most prevalent mental disorders, particularly in high and upper-middle-income nations and lead to increased disease burden and mortality occasioned by medical complications and consequences (Leggio & Lee, 2017). Therefore, the project will entail having interventions that allow clinicians to understand the complex nature of the condition and the associated factors.
The incorporation of health policies and goals is an essential component of evidence-based practice projects. In this case, the project
incorporates the use of health policies like the need to increase accessibility to mental health services to diverse populations and lowering the disease burden associated with AUD. The goal of this project is to ensure that clinicians not only understand the challenges but can develop responsive actions to address the issue. A core aspect of the project is to enhance competencies for the clinicians as they handle patients with AUD.
Comparison of the Intervention to Previous Research or Practice
Behavioral treatment and incorporation of coordinated care are the main interventions that the project will deploy in addressing the problem. Studies show that that behavioral therapies are essential treatment options of individuals with AUD. While there are medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for alcohol use disorder, the deployment of new treatment interventions like behavioral approaches can help these individuals get better outcomes. Again, the intervention compares favorably with past research and practice since many clinicians are leveraging existing evidence-based practice interventions to develop care plans based on behavioral treatment approaches to offer care to individuals with AUD. In their study, Patel and Balasanova (2021) assert that behavioral treatment using cognitive behavior therapy can assist in managing the trigger, providing support and addressing issues and concerns associated with mental health due to AUD. The implication is that the interventions in this case are supported by existing research studies by different scholars and journals.
Expected Outcomes of the Intervention
As observed by Patel and Balasonava (2021), behavioral treatment offers better outcomes in helping potential addicts or victims to manage factors that can trigger alcohol use. Secondly, while alcohol use disorders are prevalent, they go untreated due to the high stigma linked to them. Further, insufficient systematic screening also exacerbates the situation. Therefore, this project will focus on ensuring that it deals with reducing stigma and ensuring that there is sufficient systematic screening in primary health care to address the problem. The intervention will also focus on enhancing the use of effective and cost-effective psychosocial interventions for better outcomes.
Time to Implement the Intervention and Evaluation of Outcome
The project will implement the interventions over a period of one year or twelve months dealing with individuals suffering from AUD at different stage of diagnoses. At the core of the implementation would be enhancing adherence to behavioral treatment through improved coordination among clinicians who possess the requisite competences and understand the underlying barriers to care provision. The evaluation of the outcomes will rely on improvement in management and control of triggers, enhanced screening in primary care settings, and effective response to treatment of individuals with the condition.
Nursing Science, Social Determinants of Health, Epidemiologic, Genomic and Genetic Data
Nursing science entails the effective use of nurse-based scientific evidence to develop care plans and interventions while social determinants of health denote to factors that affect care delivery and accessibility. The epidemiologic, genomic and genetic data demonstrate the different patterns of the condition and how it affects the selected population. In this case, all these aspects support population health management of the selected population since they demonstrate the existing data, patterns and interventions that can be implemented to help address the issue (Carvalho et al., 2019). The use of nursing science will allow clinicians to deploy evidence-based interventions while social determinants of health demonstrate the most affected demographics and the factors leading to increased disease burden.
Conclusion
The evidence-based practice project is critical to helping nurses and other providers understand the barriers to care provision for this population and the need to enhance their clinical competence in planning for effective care. The project will ensure that patients with AUD get better interventions through behavioral treatment to manage the condition.
References
Carvalho, A. F., Heilig, M., Perez, A., Probst, C., & Rehm, J. (2019). Alcohol use disorders. The
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Leggio, L., & Lee, M. R. (2017). Treatment of alcohol use disorder in patients with alcoholic
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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). (n.d.). Alcohol Use Disorder.
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-use-disorder
Patel, A. K. & Balasanova, A. A. (2021). Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. JAMA,
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