Assessing the Problem
Define a Patient, Family, or Population Health Problem Relevant to Your Practice.
Summary of the Problem
The selected population health issue is diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023) define diabetes as a metabolic disorder characterized by the body’s inability to regulate blood sugar levels. For instance, a person’s body cells may not respond effectively to insulin, leading to high blood sugar build-up. There are two types of diabetes: high and low blood sugar.
The Patient Population
The targeted patient population for this assessment is persons aged 45 years and above from all genders. This is informed by the condition’s high prevalence among these age groups (World Health Organization, 2021). However, I will use one patient affected by the condition to represent answers. The patient will be Kim Richardson, my former teacher.
Context and Data Substantiating the Presence and Significance of Diabetes.
The presence of diabetes as a significant population health is substantiated by data on its prevalence. In this regard, diabetes is highly prevalent. For example, the CDC (2023) states that approximately 37 million Americans are affected by the condition. Moreover, the CDC continues to estimate the increasing prevalence of diabetes, stating that those affected have doubled within the last 20 years. Context and data substantiating the significance of diabetes as a significant population health issue, especially to the selected population, capture the condition’s impact. In this regard, the World Health Organization (2021) states that diabetes has severe impacts, extending to high mortality rates as the seventh leading cause of death in the US and the leading cause of other severe conditions such as kidney failure worldwide. Therefore, it is significant to the affected population because if it is left unmanaged, it may exacerbate their conditions, leading to death, injury, or other chronic conditions.
Relevant of the Problem to Personal Practice of a Baccalaureate-Prepared Nurse
Diabetes management is relevant to the personal practice of a baccalaureate-prepared nurse because they manage many persons affected by the condition. Therefore, its evaluation will expose baccalaureate-prepared nurses to the condition, enabling them to understand causes, risk factors, and effective interventions. Therefore, during practical patient care, baccalaureate-prepared nurses can leverage the acquired knowledge to offer effective care and treatment to patients, leading to fast recovery. For example, since I will understand the vulnerable people, I can determine the risk factors and causes of diabetes and then educate patients on avoiding them. This can help enhance public health outcomes by preventing the incidence and increasing prevalence of the condition. Moreover, assessing the condition will help me as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse to know evidence-based approaches for managing diabetes. I can then apply these techniques when providing patient care, resulting in high efficacy of my treatment or nursing care.
Peer-Reviewed Literature and Professional Sources’ Evidence Describing and Guiding Nursing Actions Related to The Patient Population Problem.
Supporting Evidence Consistent with Current Nursing Practice
The evidence provided by Venkatesan et al. (2021) explains how the integrative care model can guide nurses in managing diabetes. In this regard, the authors explain that nurses need to incorporate patients in the care processes as they will aid in making proper decisions and resulting in patient-centered care. Ideally, this is consistent with current nurses’ practice, which focuses on offering holistic patient-centered care. This contributes to increased patient satisfaction as the care approaches consider their preferences.
The evidence from the study by Suplici et al. (2021) guides nurses in using pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to manage diabetes. In this regard, the authors highlight lifestyle modifications as crucial to preventing the onset and progression of diabetes into severe conditions. Ideally, this evidence aligns with current practices where lifestyle modifications such as exercise and proper dietary intake have been encouraged to prevent cardiovascular illnesses like diabetes.
Determining Data Reliability
When using evidence to inform clinical decisions, it is essential to ascertain that the data within it is reliable. This can be achieved by acquiring data only from peer-reviewed sources. One determines the reliability of data by checking if it is current. This means confirming if the article or resource was published within the last three to five years. One can know if data is reliable by evaluating the methodology used to acquire it. In this regard, the study should have used scientific inquiry that avoided biases and objectively evaluated data. Lastly, check for any conflicts of interest to know if the authors maintained integrity throughout the data collection and presentation stages.
Barriers to the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice in Addressing Diabetes
Despite the presence of effective evidence-based strategies for managing diabetes, they have not been implemented due to underlying conditions. The primary barrier is limited financial resources. In this regard, healthcare facilities cannot acquire all the supporting tools, such as technologies, medications, or personnel, to ensure the equitable application of evidence-based strategies. The second barrier is the challenges of uptake by available healthcare providers. Ideally, many nurses prefer tried and tested interventions instead of trying new approaches. This limits the application of many novel evidence-based strategies. According to Gast and Mathes (2019), limited patient conformity also makes it difficult to utilize some evidence-based strategies. For example, patients may not adhere to the recommended medication regimen once they leave the healthcare facility.
Effectiveness of Nursing Standards or Policies in Improving Outcomes for Diabetes.
Research by Heinen et al. (2019) evaluated the effectiveness of nursing standards and ascertained that they help improve outcomes for population health issues such as delays. This is because the standards guide the interaction between healthcare providers and patients, leading to care coordination and continuum, which is more effective. For instance, by appropriately engaging patients, they develop holistic patient-centered care plans that are highly effective. The study by Press et al. (2021) evaluated the HRRP and stated that it is efficacious in improving the quality of care for diabetic patients. This is because the policy is a value-based program that encourages nurses and other healthcare personnel to reduce the readmission rate, enhancing overall care safety. This benefits all patients, including those affected by diabetes.
Role of Nurses in Policy Making
There is limited literature explaining the specific role of nurses in policymaking. However, the study by Azami et al. (2021) states that nurses help provide information for policy-making practices. This is because they engage frequently with nurses, acquiring critical information they share with policymakers. This information acts as data that informs policy decisions and directives. Feedback from nurses on the specific effects of policies is also essential in helping with policy revision where specific faulty areas are corrected.
Nursing Theory
I will align with Hildegard Peplau’s interpersonal relations theory in nursing care practice related to diabetes management. According to the research by Mersha et al. (2023), the theory insists on having proper patient-provider relationships. Therefore, by using it, I will interact well with diabetic patients, which will help me to develop personalized treatment plans. Moreover, I can encourage them to adhere to recommended medication regimens after leaving the healthcare facilities. This is likely to result in offering highly efficacious patient-centered care.
Explain How State Board Nursing Practice Standards and Organizational or Governmental Policies Could Affect the Patient, Family, and Or Population Problem you have defined.
Effectiveness of Nursing Practice Standards and Organizational Policies
The research by Norful et al. (2019) explains that nursing practice standards and organizational policies effectively promote standardization. In this regard, policies such as the Affordable Care Act are essential in helping all patients access safe and quality care. This helps eliminate or lower the possibility of health inequalities due to challenges in accessing quality care. Research also explains that the State Nursing Board Acts effectively promote patient safety. They achieve this by issuing guidelines on particular patient management practices, such as delegation of duty. This helps ensure that patients are only handled by qualified professionals. Thereby protecting them from any harm during care provision.
Effects of Local, State, and Federal Policies or Legislation on Nursing Scope of Practice, Within the Context of Diabetes.
Local, state, and federal policies and legislation impact my nursing scope of practice by influencing my conduct. The first impact is through insistence on standardizing practicing. In this regard, I am required to attain specific competencies to attain certification. Ideally, these ensure I am competent enough to carry out all the roles defined under my scope of practice. For instance, the Texas Nursing State Board Act ensures that nurses from another state update their knowledge, raising their competency in offering effective patient care. Policies and nursing standards also enhance the scope of practice by insisting on considering ethical principles. For instance, APA ethical principles ensure that nurses consider all ethical principles, helping to prevent the violation of patient rights (Oguisso et al., 2019).
Proposed Leadership Strategies to Improve Outcomes, Patient-Cantered Care, and The Patient Experience Related to The Patient Population Problem.
Leadership Strategies and Their Effectiveness
The first leadership strategy that can help improve outcomes while promoting patient-centered care and the patient experience is inclusivity. Ideally, this involves incorporating everyone, including patients, in the treatment process. This can lead to collaboration and coordination between different professionals, leading to enhanced focus on the patient. This is effective in reducing the likelihood of errors during medical administration. The other recommended leadership strategy is evidence-based practice. It is effective because it helps implement tested interventions likely to result in desired patient experiences due to their high efficacy.
Role of Leadership
The anticipated role of my leadership in managing the population’s health issue of diabetes is to guide all other personnel in carrying out their tasks. In this regard, leadership team members will provide a directive regarding specific actions that need to be carried out, the time to be taken, and the stakeholders responsible. My leadership will also play a crucial role in providing the resources required to manage diabetes using evidence-based approaches successfully. This will involve hiring enough staff who are competent and procuring essential medications.
Collaboration and Communication Strategies for Addressing Diabetes
Collaboration and communication strategies that will be required to address the population’s health issue of diabetes will comprise effective communication, teamwork, and inclusivity. As per Hoben et al. (2020), direct communication will enhance engagement between different personnel, allowing them to easily collaborate in patient management practices as the level of interaction will be high. Teamwork will ensure collaboration (Azami et al., 2021). This is because available teams will be tasked to complete one specific task at a time. Consequently, they will learn how to help each other carry out duties related to patient management effectively. Inclusivity means incorporating everyone into patient management practices. Therefore, it creates a foundation for proper and improved communication and collaboration.
Change Management Strategies
Shifting the current approach to patient care and adopting strategies that lead to effective handling of diabetic patients is a change process. To achieve this, the specific change strategies that will be adopted will comprise effective communication, early planning, and collective setting of goals. Planning will be essential because it will prepare the organization for change by acquiring the resources necessary to facilitate change. Planning will be complemented with early planning, which will help determine the specific requirements and appropriate steps to take in affecting the planned change. The collective setting of goals will also be essential in explaining the direction a specific change is expected to take.
Conclusion
Diabetes is a significant population health issue as it affects many people. The prevalence of the condition tends to increase with age. As such, persons aged 45 years and above are appropriate for this evaluation. Moreover, it is imperative to consider the impact of nursing theories, healthcare policies, and change management modes in developing interventions for diabetic patients.
References
Azami, G., Said, S. M., Mozafari, M., Lam, A. K., Aazami, S., Babashahi, M., & ShariffGhazali, S. (2021). Mediating roles of self-efficacy and diabetes self-management behaviors on the association between social support and glycemic control. MedSurgNursing, 30(5), 334-341.
Gast, A., & Mathes, T. (2019). Medication adherence influencing factors-an (updated) overview of systematic reviews. Systematic reviews, 8(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-019-1014-8
Heinen, M., van Oostveen, C., Peters, J., Vermeulen, H., & Huis, A. (2019). An integrative review of leadership competencies and attributes in advanced nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2378-2392.
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Mersha, A., Abera, A., Tesfaye, T., Abera, T., Belay, A., Melaku, T., Shiferaw, M., Shibiru, S., Estifanos, W., & Wake, S. K. (2023). Therapeutic communication and its associated factors among nurses working in public hospitals of Gamo zone, southern Ethiopia: application of Hildegard Peplau’s nursing theory of interpersonal relations. BMC nursing, 22(1), 381. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01526-z
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Suplici, S. E. R., Meirelles, B. H. S., Silva, D. M. G. V., & Boell, J. E. W. (2021). Adherence to self-care in people with diabetes mellitus in primary care: A mixed-methods study. Anna Nery School Journal of Nursing, 25(5), 1-9.
Venkatesan, T., Porcelli, A., Matapurkar, A., Suresh Kumar, V. C., Szabo, A., Yin, Z., & Wieloch, L. (2021). An integrative healthcare model with heartfulness meditation and care coordination improves outcomes in cyclic vomiting syndrome. Neurogastroenterology and motility, 33(11), e14132. https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.14132
World Health Organization. (2021). Diabetes: Fact sheets. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
Norful, A. A., Swords, K., Marichal, M., Cho, H., & Poghosyan, L. (2019). Nurse practitioner-physician comanagement of primary care patients: The promise of a new delivery care model to improve quality of care. Health care management review, 44(3), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.1097/HMR.0000000000000161
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, April 18). Type 2 diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html