NR 505 Why are research and evidence-based practice important for professional nursing?
Based upon your learning during this week\’s lesson, consider how research and evidence-based practice shape nursing and healthcare delivery. Respond to the following:
Why are research and evidence-based practice important for professional nursing?
How do research and evidence-based practice impact quality and safety in the healthcare delivery?
What is one example where research or evidence-based practice is improving health outcomes in your area of practice or in your organization?
If you were to conduct an evidence-based practice initiative, what practice-related issue would you address, and why?
What theoretical framework, model, or nursing theory would you use to guide the evidence-based practice initiative?
Research and Evidence-Based Practice
The provision of high quality, safe and efficient care in nursing is important. Nurses utilize evidence-based interventions to ensure the above outcomes of care are achieved. They also work in collaboration with other healthcare providers to ensure that their health-related needs are met. Therefore, this essay examines the importance of evidence-based practice, impact of research and evidence-based practice on quality and safety and an example of evidence-based practice or research improving outcomes in my organization.
Why Research and Evidence-Based Practice Are Important for Professional Nursing
Research and evidence-based practice are important for professional nursing. Firstly, research and evidence-based practice helps nurses make informed decisions. The evidence from research and evidence-based interventions provides nurses with the basis for making decisions related to the care needs of the patients. Research and evidence-based practice also keeps nurses informed about new developments for patient care in their areas of specialization. They enable the nurses to be informed about trends such as protocols utilized in th e provision of patient care (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2017). Research and evidence-based practice also contributes to quality, safety and efficiency in patient care. They provide information about new ways in which patient-centered care can be provided to optimize on the patient outcomes (Faan & Faan, 2021). For example, research on health technologies such as barcode system of medication administration informs the adoption of technologies to promote safety in patient care.
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Research and evidence-based practice affect quality and safety in healthcare delivery in a number of ways. Firstly, research and evidence-based practice provide information about the most effective and efficient interventions in nursing that can be utilized in patient care. Nurses utilize the interventions to optimize the outcomes of patient care such as safety, quality and efficiency (Kim et al., 2020). Research and evidence-based practice also decreases the demand for healthcare services. The reduction in demand is attributed to the improved efficiency and quality of care, which translates into safety in patient care. Research and evidence-based practice also eliminate redundancies in patient care, which increases risk of safety issues and increased utilization of resources. There is also the fact that research and evidence-based practice increases the role of the patients in the care process. Research and evidence-based practice increases the need for patient-centered care, where value, beliefs, and preferences of patients are respected. As a result, safety outcomes are achieved through the provision of care that aligns with needs of the patients (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2017). There is also patient empowerment and satisfaction, which increases treatment adherence, hence safety in care.
Example Where Research or Evidence-Based Practice Is Improving Health Outcomes in Your Area of Practice or Organization
One example where research is improving health outcomes in my organization is the use of telemedicine in chronic disease management. Telemedicine has been adopted in my organization to provide patient-centered care and promote inter-professional collaboration. Healthcare providers utilize the technology to share knowledge and skills on the ways in which different chronic illnesses can be managed. Healthcare providers also utilize it to provide patient-centered care to patients with chronic illnesses who have been discharged from the hospital. The benefit of telemedicine has been the reduction in healthcare costs, reduction in adverse events in disease management and improvement in the quality of patient care.
Practice-Related Issue and Theoretical Framework
One of the practice issue that I would address if I were to conduct an evidence-based initiative is medication errors. Medication errors have a negative effect on the health of the patients. Nurses play a critical role in the prevention of medication errors. Therefore, I would aim at examining evidence-based interventions for addressing the issue. I will utilize Lewin’s theory of change to guide the initiative because it promotes sustainability of change initiatives.
Overall, evidence-based practice and research have positive impacts on professional nursing. They inform the decisions that nurses make in relation to patient care. Research and evidence-based practice also improve the safety of patient care. Nurses should therefore explore the ways in which research and nursing can inform their practice.
Also Check Out: NR 505 Using Evidence to Address Practice Issues SOLUTION
References
Faan, G. L.-W., PhD RN, & Faan, J. H., PhD RN. (2021). Nursing Research E-Book: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Kim, M., Mallory, C., & Valerio, T. (2020). Statistics for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Mackey, A., & Bassendowski, S. (2017). The History of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing Education and Practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(1), 51–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2016.05.009
Nursing Practice Concern/Problem
Patient education at the time of discharge is vital in enabling them to take part in their health and be able to manage their health issues outside of the hospital. Due to the immense benefits of patient education during discharge, patient satisfaction with discharge education currently characterizes an excellent part of hospital reimbursement nationwide, as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey (HCAHPS) scores. In this context, the teach-back method has been proposed as the best way to ensure that the older adult patient retain the discharge instructions taught to them and gain confidence in the management of their health at the time of discharge (Da Hinh et al., 2016). However, this noble practice is reportedly done poorly in many health care settings. Therefore, the nursing practice concern is the provision of ineffective and inadequate patient education during discharge. Essentially, providing ineffective and inadequate patient education at discharge is associated with many adverse impacts to patients such as increasing the chances of readmission, poor disease management, and patient/caregiver medication errors. Eventually, there is likelihood of poor patient satisfaction and outcomes and also reduction in HCAPS results and hospital reimbursement for care rendered (Allen, Hutchinson, Brown & Livingston, 2014).
PICOT Question
For the older adults (over 65), being discharged from the Geriatric Enhanced Medicine (GEM) unit at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), can the use of the teach-back method with discharge education, compared to not using the teach-back method with discharge education, improve patient satisfaction within eight weeks, as measured by the HCAHPS survey questions?
Key Stakeholders
The key stakeholders involved include the patients, physicians, patients, nurse practitioners, insurance companies, management of the health facility, and pharmacists. These stakeholders provide valuable resources and necessary support in planning and initiating the proposed teach-back method of providing patient education during patient discharge.
Theoretical Framework
This EBP project will be guided by the Dorothea Orem theory of nursing. The theory is divided into three parts namely theory of self care, theory of self care deficit, and theory of nursing system. According to Orem, self-care connotes practices initiated and performed by a person for personal benefits such as maintaining life, health, and wellness. On the other hand, the theory of self-care deficit specifies when nursing is required. In particular, it states that nursing is needed when an adult is incapable of providing continuous good self care. Therefore, Orem advances five nursing helping techniques including guiding others, teaching another, acting for and doing for others, providing a good environment to foster personal development to realize future demands, and supporting another. Finally, the theory of nursing systems illustrates the manner in which the self care needs of the patients will be met by the nurse, the patient, or both of them. Overall, the major assumptions of this theory are;
- Individuals should be self-dependent and responsible for own care and the family members who need care.
- Individuals are distinct
- Attaining self-care needs is crucial element of primary care and prevention of poor health.
- An individual’s awareness of possible health challenges is vital in enhancing self-care behaviors.
- Self-care and autonomous care behaviors are learned within the context of socio-cultural.
Essentially, the Orem’s theory is applicable in nursing practice as it assists nurses to enhance the health of patients by making them autonomous. In the present EBP project, providing ways to improve effective discharge teaching to enable patients leave the hospital with more confidence and better understanding of how to manage their health conforms to the provision of theory’s perspective that a patient has skills to create actions that meet personal needs of the patient becomes suitable for self care.
Literature Review
Over the past decade, the conversion from hospital to home care has been associated with increased risks, especially for older adults with intricate care needs. This risk is associated with many factors including patient’s lack of or poor understanding of discharge instructions. According to Waniga et al. (2016), the time of discharge from the hospital is extremely vulnerable for patients with nearly 19% of patients experiencing adverse events of post discharge such as uncertainty, anxiety, and lack of understanding about discharge instructions. All these lead to readmission rates, and influence the overall perception of the hospital experience. Therefore, non-sophisticated discharge instructions are vital to ensure seamless change from hospital to home, when the care responsibility changes from the providers to patients and care givers (Navanandan et al., 2017). Consequently, nurses play a crucial role in providing discharge instructions to patients.
Moreover, older adults face challenges such as functional capacity, inability for self care, and deteriorated health status. Therefore, before hospital discharge, it is imperative for nurses to provide discharge education that considers the perspectives of the adults to prevent challenges associated with self-care (Ghiasvand et al., 2017). One of the best discharge instructional methods is teach-back method. This method refers to a communication technique used by the nurses to verify whether or not a patient understands what they are told. If the patient understands, he or she is able to accurately teach-back the information. This method is crucial in enhancing the patient understanding of post-discharge care requirements (Griffey et al., 2015). Moreover, it is imperative for nurses to utilize written and visual materials to further increase patient understanding and appeal for various learning methods such as visual and auditory.
Data Collection Methods
The data will be collected using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys. HCAHPS connotes a patient satisfaction survey recommended for all health care settings in America. It seeks to produce comparable data on the views of the patient on health care to facilitate objective and focused comparisons between facilities (Piper & Tallman, 2016). The other method entails the use of questionnaires, which consist of a set of questions that are intended to obtain information from respondents. Other methods that can be used include interviews, focused groups, and observations.
Analysis
After completing data collection, the data analysis will begin by manipulating the data in various ways including plotting the data out and seeking correlation or developing a pivot table in Excel. The pivot table is important in fostering sorting the data based on various variables (Grech, 2018). However, if the outcome of the manipulation of the data does not result in the required data, it is necessary to collect more data or revise the original survey questions. Nonetheless, the original analysis of the correlations, trends, and variations is crucial in focusing the data analysis to effectively answer the question and address any objection that may arise.
Expected Outcomes
It has been established that patients who are discharged without proper understanding of discharge instructions tend to develop significant complications. Such complications could lead to adverse patient outcomes such as hospital readmission, medication errors, post-operative infections, and influence of overall perception of hospital experience. Therefore, it is expected that effective methods of providing discharge education such as teach-back method would address such challenges and equip the patients with increased knowledge on self care management.
References
Allen, J., Hutchinson, A., Brown, R., & Livingston, P. (2014). Quality care outcomes followingtransitional care interventions for older people from hospital to home: A systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 14, 346. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-346.
Ghiasvand, F., Riazi, H., Hajian, S., Kazemi, E., & Firoozi, A. (2017). The effect of a self-care program based on the teach-back method on the postpartum quality of life. Electronic physician, 9(4), 4180–4189. https://doi.org/10.19082/4180
Grech, V. (2018). WASP (Write a Scientific Paper) using Excel–2: Pivot tables. Early human development, 117, 104-109.
Griffey, R. T., Shin, N., Jones, S., Aginam, N., Gross, M., Kinsella, Y., Williams, J. A., Carpenter, C. R., Goodman, M., & Kaphingst, K. A. (2015). The impact of teach-back on comprehension of discharge instructions and satisfaction among emergency patients with limited health literacy: A randomized, controlled study. Journal of communication in healthcare, 8(1), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1179/1753807615Y.0000000001
Ha Dinh, T. T., Bonner, A., Clark, R., Ramsbotham, J., & Hines, S. (2016). The effectiveness of the teach-back method on adherence and self-management in health education for people with chronic disease: a systematic review. JBI database of systematic reviews and implementation reports, 14(1), 210–247. https://doi.org/10.11124/jbisrir-2016-2296
Navanandan, N., Schmidt, S. K., Cabrera, N., DiStefano, M. C., & Mistry, R. D. (2017). The caregiver perspective on unscheduled 72-hour return visits to pediatric acute care sites: a focus on discharge processes. Academic pediatrics, 17(7), 755-761.
Piper, L. E., & Tallman, E. (2016). Hospital consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems: An ethical leadership dilemma to satisfy patients. The health care manager, 35(2), 151-155.
Waniga, H. M., Gerke, T., Shoemaker, A., Bourgoine, D., & Eamranond, P. (2016). The impact of revised discharge instructions on patient satisfaction. Journal of patient experience, 3(3), 64-68.