Category: Nursing

  • BEST PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PEDIATRIC/ADOLESCENT OBESITY IN PRIMARY CARE CLINICS

    BEST PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PEDIATRIC/ADOLESCENT OBESITY IN PRIMARY CARE CLINICS

    Write concisely in detail.

    Provide background information for the study including the objective of the proposed research, purpose, research question, hypothesis and other information deemed relevant.

    • Provide background information on Childhood obesity

    • Please number the objective of the proposed research (at least 4-5 objectives)

    • Purpose of the project

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    • Research question

    Describe the research design of the study (i.e., state whether the study is correlational, experimental, etc. and define the variables).

    • The tools to use in research of CHILDHOOD OBESITY (6-18)

    • State references backing the tools

    • What is going to be measured.

    • what will happen in the intervention.

    • Will parents be part of the educational intervention?

    PICOT QUESTION

    • P – Population/ Patient = Obese or overweight child or adolescent who attended a primary care pediatric setting- 6-18-year-old.

    • I – Intervention/ Indicator = Implementation of a multidisciplinary pediatric obesity program.

    • C – Comparator/control = no pediatric obesity program

    • O – Outcome = 5 % decrease in Body Mass Index (BMI) and reduction in childhood obesity.

    • T – Time = over a period of 6 months.

    BEST PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PEDIATRIC/ADOLESCENT OBESITY IN PRIMARY CARE CLINICS

  • NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example

    NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example

    EBP-Solution Description

    Proposed Solution

    The current situation in the health organisation is alarming and needs action. The hospital is substantial generation loads of data. There is much generation of patient’s records which necessitates the facility to have a more improved and automated database management systems that can assist in the management of the same (Lampe et al., 2014).  The proposed solution to the pertinent issues/health problem is the systematic management of the overall organisation’s database and other automation of other services and functions in the facility that requires electronic applications NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example. The implementation of the project aims at improving efficiency and quality service delivery in health care. The current situation is problematic since it becomes more difficult and unproductive for nurses in practice and other health officers in the organisation to provide quality services as expected (Lampe et al., 2014). The level of technology in the current age necessitates that the activities in the hospital be automated in making the work easier.

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    The proposed intervention or rather the solution that is intended for the current health issues in the health organisation is implementing of the technology application that will help in the integration of the various clinical activities in the organisation (McNamara, 2017). The project is also aimed at the combination of the Electronic Health Records and the Computerised Physician Order Entry. The two technologies can effectively be used in the management of the entire records of the hospital and other crucial functions in the facility. In essence, the intervention is consistent with the current with the current evidence corrected. The health organisation needs te intervention most for the integration and management of organisation’s overall functions and operations. The response is a real solution to the current challenge in the hospital. The IT infrastructure in the hospital is compatible or instead will allow a conducive environment that can allow implementation of the program. NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example. The training on the proper use of the system is adequate, and the organisation has the right capacity training on the same (Romanow, 2018). It will be comfortable and compatible with the organisation to adopt, and implementation of the technological application and hence makes the intervention a realistic.

    Interventions

    There are various measures that I shall use to counteract the challenges that I expect in the field when gathering evidence. These interventions include ensuring there is enough background to collecting evidence such as engaging more nurses and clinicians as possible. I will also seek as many resources as possible to provide sufficient evidence for the project NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example.

    Organizational Culture

    The overall nature of the nurses in practice and even the clinical nurses have always engaged in research and evidence-based practices (Romanow, 2018). They are highly expected to provide quality healthcare services to the patients. The overall expectation of the organisation is the application of the implemented technological application to seek evidence and research to improve the performance of nurses in practice and the organisation. The organisation has a rigid IT system that is consistent the newly proposed intervention (Lampe et al., 2014). The culture of the facility and the resources available are therefore consistent with the literature of the activities of nurses in practice and other clinical nurses in improving their performance and productivity.

    Expected Outcomes

    The project will improve the implementation of the technological application to help in integration and automation of clinical activities to achieve efficiency and quality service delivery (Lampe et al., 2014). Apart from the management of records and company’s data, there are other functions that the applications help in solving. The organisation expects that the project shall help in reducing cost and risks associated with the manual management of records and activities in the hospital (McNamara, 2017). There is a high expectation of improved quality service delivery in the nursing practice. NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example.

    Method to Achieve the Outcome

    Assuming that the organisation’s infrastructure remained unchanged and it is consistent with the new program, it is critical to ensure that the nursing team receives the right and adequate training for the technology for better-improved results (Romanow, 2018).

    Impact of the Outcome

    The successful implementation of the projects or rather the program is expected to have the various effects onto the system. Some of the improvements include patient-centered quality healthcare, quality care improvements, environmental changes and increased efficiency of processes (McNamara, 2017) NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example.

    References

    Lampe, K., Pasternack, I., Saarekas, O., Raustia, L., Cleemput, I., Corio, M., … & Kristensen, F. (2014). Developing the HTA core model for the online environment. 
    International journal of technology assessment in health care
    , 
    30
    (5), 478-487.

    McNamara, J. (2017). 
    Does Implementing a CDSS in Radiology Have an Effect on CT Order Errors?
    . Weber State University.

    Romanow, D., Rai, A., & Keil, M. (2018). CPOE-Enabled Coordination: Appropriation for Deep Structure Use and Impacts on Patient Outcomes. 
    MIS Quarterly
    , 
    42
    (1), 189-212. NUR 699 EBP Section D: Solution Description Example

  • Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study

    Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study

    Assignment: Asthma

    Complications of asthma can be sudden. Consider the case of Bradley Wilson, a young boy who had several medical conditions. He appeared in good health when he went to school, returned home, and ate dinner. However, when he later went outside to play, he came back inside wheezing. An ambulance took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead (Briscoe, 2012). In another case, 10-year-old Dynasty Reese, who had mild asthma, woke up in the middle of the night and ran to her grandfather’s bedroom to tell him she couldn’t breathe. By the time paramedics arrived, she had passed out and was pronounced dead at the hospital (Glissman, 2012). These situations continue to outline the importance of recognizing symptoms of asthma and providing immediate treatment, as well as distinguishing minor symptoms from serious, life-threatening symptoms. Since these symptoms and attacks are often induced by a trigger, as an advanced practice nurse, you must be able to help patients identify their triggers and recommend appropriate treatment options. For this reason, you need to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation. Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study.

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    To Prepare

    • Review “Asthma” in Chapter 27 of the Huether and McCance text. Identify the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation. Consider how these disorders are similar and different.

    • Select a patient factor different from the one you selected in this week’s Discussion: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior. Think about how the factor you selected might impact the pathophysiology of both disorders. Reflect on how you would diagnose and prescribe treatment of these disorders for a patient based on the factor you selected.

    • Review the “Mind maps—Dementia, Endocarditis, and Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)” media in the Week 2 Learning Resources. Use the examples in the media as a guide to construct two mind maps—one for chronic asthma and one for acute asthma exacerbation Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study. Consider the epidemiology and clinical presentation of both chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation.

    To Complete

    Write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:

    • Describe the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic asthma and acute asthma exacerbation. Be sure to explain the changes in the arterial blood gas patterns during an exacerbation.

    • Explain how the factor you selected might impact the pathophysiology of both disorders. Describe how you would diagnose and prescribe treatment for a patient based on the factor you selected.

    • Construct two mind maps—one for chronic asthma and one for acute asthma exacerbation. Include the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation, as well as the diagnosis and treatment you explained in your paper.

    By Day 7

    This Assignment is due.

    Note: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

    Reference

    Briscoe, K. (2012, May 12). Thetford: mother of Bradley Wilson, who died of asthma attack, told there was nothing she could have done. East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved fromhttp://www.eadt.co.uk/news/thetford_mother_of_bradley_wilson_who_died_of_asthma_attack_told_there_was_nothing_she_could_have_d

    COURSE RESOURCES: Required Readings

    (MUST USE 2-3 course resources (PLUS) 2 creditable outside resources)

    Huether, S. E., & McCance, K. L. (2017). Understanding pathophysiology (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

    • Chapter 26, “Structure and Function of the Pulmonary System” Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study

    This chapter provides information relating to the structure and function of the pulmonary system to illustrate normal pulmonary function. It focuses on gas transport to build the foundation for examining alterations of pulmonary function.

    • Chapter 27, “Alterations of Pulmonary Function”

    This chapter examines clinical manifestations of pulmonary alterations and disorders of the chest wall and pleura. It covers the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, evaluation, and treatment of obstructive lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.

    • Chapter 28, “Alterations of Pulmonary Function in Children”

    This chapter focuses on alterations of pulmonary function that affect children. These alterations include disorders of the upper and lower airways.

    Hammer, G. G. , & McPhee, S. (2014). Pathophysiology of disease: An introduction to clinical medicine. (7th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study

    • Chapter 9, “Pulmonary Disease”

    This chapter begins with an overview of normal structure and function of the lungs to provide a foundation for examining various lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

    Required Media

    Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012e). Mid-course review. Baltimore, MD: Author.

    This media is an interactive mid-course review covering course content.

    Optional Resources

    American Lung Association. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.lung.org/

    Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.aafa.org

    Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.cff.org/ Chronic and acute asthma exacerbation Essay – Bradley Wilson case study

  • Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example

    Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example

    NUR 699 GC Week 5 Section F Implementation Plan

    NUR 699 GC Week 5 Assignment 2

    Evidence-Based Practice Proposal – Section F: Implementation Plan

    Details:

    In 500-750 words (not including the title page and reference page), provide a description of the methods

    to be used to implement the proposed solution. Include the following:

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    1.

    Describe the setting and access to potential subjects. If there is a need for a consent or approval

    form, then one must be created. Although you will not be submitting the consent or approval

    form(s) in Topic 5 with the narrative, the consent or approval form(s) should be placed in the

    appendices for the final Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example paper.

    2.

    Describe the amount of time needed to complete this project. Create a timeline. Make sure the

    timeline is general enough that it can be implemented at any date. Although you will not be

    submitting the timeline in Topic 5 with the narrative, the timeline should be placed in the

    appendices for the final paper.

    3.

    Describe the resources (human, fiscal, and other) or changes needed in the implementation of

    the solution. Consider the clinical tools or process changes that would need to take place.

    Provide a resource list. Although you will not be submitting the resource list in Topic 5 with the

    narrative, the resource list should be placed in the appendices for the final paper.

    4.

    Describe the methods and instruments, such as a questionnaire, scale, or test to be used for

    monitoring the implementation of the proposed solution. Develop the instruments. Although you

    will not be submitting the individual instruments in Topic 5 with the narrative, the instruments

    should be placed in the appendices for the final paper. Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example.

    5.

    Explain the process for delivering the (intervention) solution and indicate if any training will be

    needed.

    6.

    Provide an outline of the data collection plan. Describe how data management will be maintained

    and by whom. Furthermore, provide an explanation of how the data analysis and interpretation

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    process will be conducted. Develop the data collection tools that will be needed. Although you will

    not be submitting the data collection tools in Topic 5 with the narrative, the data collection tools

    should be placed in the appendices for the final paper.

    7.

    Describe the strategies to deal with the management of any barriers, facilitators, and challenges.

    8.

    Establish the feasibility of the implementation plan. Address the costs for personnel, consumable

    supplies, equipment (if not provided by the institute), computer related costs (librarian

    consultation, database access, etc.), and other costs (travel, presentation development). Make

    sure to provide a brief rationale for each. Develop a budget plan. Although you will not be

    submitting the budget plan in Topic 5 with the narrative, the budget plan should be placed in the

    appendices for the final paper.

    9.

    Describe the plans to maintain, extend, revise, and discontinue a proposed solution after

    implementation.

    Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the

    Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

    This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become

    familiar with the expectations for successful completion. Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example

    You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student

    Success Center.

     

    Evidence-Based Practice – Section F: Implementation Plan

    Implementation Plan

    Implementing a change within a healthcare organization encompasses many different aspects. There are different phases, different people, different obstacles or barriers, as well as different drivers. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methods used to implement the Hester Davis Scale for Falls Risk Assessment (HDS).

    The HDS pilot is taking place at Kaiser Permanente, Downey Medical Center on unit 4 West (the orthopedic/medical surgical unit). The setting will be in an acute care setting on a medical surgical unit. Consent to use the falls mats and bed and chair alarms are not required, as there are no invasive interventions or treatments. Educating the patient includes explanation of the care plan interventions.

    Being that this pilot is broken into phases, there is no specific timeframe to complete each phase. Phase 1, the initial roll out, was begun in December, 2015 and completed on April 4, 2016. That was four and a half months. Phase 2 began on April 5, 2016. It will be refined, as needed, based on the metrics on documentation and falls or falls with injury, as well as observation of the staff’s compliance with the use of the care plans’ interventions. Phase 3 will begin once phase 2 is complete.

    During the pilot and training phases, Hester Davis will not charge for use of the HDS tool. However, there are licensing fees associated with the HDS (no discussion at this time). As for the tools to be used with the interventions, there is the falls mat, chair alarms, and bed alarms. All of the beds on the orthopedic/medical surgical unit have bed alarms. The staff must be trained the appropriate alarms to place on the beds. The chair alarms are being provided by Posey for testing purposes. Currently, KP is working with two different vendors in regards to the floor mats. There is no contract with any of the vendors, in place, at this time, so everything is currently on loan for the purpose of the pilot. Getting a contract in place with Region takes some time, so this is something that will be address at a later time. Amy Hester and her team are available by phone, and we have a standing weekly Webex meeting on Thursdays at 4 pm. Nursing staff is also needed to ensure proper roll out.

    Methods used to monitor the implementation are documentation in the HDS in EPIC/Health Connect (KP’s electronic medical records), Stat It reports (Risk Management Falls metrics) and observation. Health Connect/EPIC is where staff documents their assessments on their patients. Monitoring 4 West staff documentation randomly will provide information about HDS documentation, as well as the care plan interventions (use of bed or chair alarms and floor mats). Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example. Stat It reports are generated and sent every time a UOR (Unusual Occurrence Report) is completed after a fall. Monitoring these and reaching out to the unit, if a fall occurs on the unit will give more detailed information about the fall. Lastly, random observations will show who is actually using the interventions recommended in the care plans Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example.

    Initially, the champions will be trained on proper documentation in the HDS and the correct interventions set forth in the care plans. A computer generated training program has been put in place in KP Learn (a computer program that is used for training purposes). The staff is asked to review the education and the champions will walk the floor to assist the staff with training, as well. Staff have been introduced to the chair alarm and the fall mats, are aware about where they are stored and have been taught how and when to use both.

    The CIS (Clinical Information Specialist), Stella, is responsible for monitoring of all falls within the medical center and creating a spreadsheet that provides detailed information that could have contributed to the fall. As for the Stat It reports, these are generated when a fall takes place and will be monitored by Risk Management and the Improvement Advisor, overseeing the project. Both of the reports are shared and discussed during the weekly Webex among all the key stakeholders.

    Through training of the champions, the department administrators are hoping to mitigate any barriers. Through the weekly Webex meetings, potential barriers or challenges are addressed and answers are provided by Amy Hester and her team on how to address those potential barriers. The most important aspect of any change process is to be honest and forthcoming with information.

    This implementation plan is feasible. At this time, the increased costs are associated with the nursing staff champions. These individuals are hourly staff and for every hour they are training rather than working the floor, those are additional fees. Being that the champions have a huge role, their hours and fees associated with the trainings have been pre-approved. Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example.

    The pilot is just that: a practice of the change project. So, based on the information found during the process, these small tests of change will be re-evaluated and changes will be made based on the information. In order to sustain the changes, a dashboard will be created in Health Connect/EPIC to see if everyone on the unit, then the floors, are documenting on HDS. The dashboard will advise the managers and charge nurses as to who is documenting properly.

     

     

     

    References

    Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ahrq). (2014). Never Events. Retrieved from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/3/never-events

    Brown, C.G. (2014). The Iowa model of evidence-based practice to promote quality care: An illustrated example in oncology nursing.
    Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18
    (2): 157-9. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/openview/68c6cc558c8cabfd155e5c10648895fc/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=33118

    Cummins, R. (2015). Patient falls: First predict, then prevent.
    University of Mississippi Medical Center
    . Retrieved from https://www.umc.edu/News_and_Publications/Press_Release/2015-02-23-00_Patient_falls__First_predict,_then_prevent.aspx

    Dupins, K. (2014). Falls and frailty: Finding who is at risk and keeping them safe.
    UAMS Journal
    . Retrieved from http://journal.uams.edu/article/falls-and-frailty-finding-whos-at-risk-and-keeping-them-safe/

    Hester, A.L. and Davis, D.M. (2013). Validation of the Hester Davis scale for falls risk assessment in neurosciences population.
    Journal of Neuroscience, 45
    (5): 298-305. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/jnnonline/Abstract/2013/10000/Validation_of_the_Hester_Davis_Scale_for_Fall_Risk.8.aspx Nur 699 wk 5 EBP Section F: Implementation Plan Example

  • Comparing Statistical Studies Essay

    Comparing Statistical Studies Essay

    Statistics are all around us, whether or not we notice them being used. From public policy, health, economics, science, culture to which foods a fast-food restaurant is going to serve next can all be influenced by how the results of statistical studies are operationalized and interpreted.

    Each chapter of your course text concludes with two ”Focus on” sections that go into depth on important issues of our time. The topics of these sections were chosen to demonstrate the great variety of fields in which statistics plays a role. For this Discussion, you are going to review and compare two statistical studies.

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    To prepare for this Discussion:

    • Think about your degree major and your areas of interests, and then concentrate on two of the following ”Focus on” disciplines: Agriculture, Criminology, Economics, Education, Environment, Health & Education, History, Law, Literature, Politics, Psychology, Public Health, Social Science, Sociology, or The Stock Market Comparing Statistical Studies Essay

    • Review the readings from this week’s Learning Resources, as well as the complete list of the ”Focus on” topics to choose from

    • Choose two of the studies to compare for this Discussion

    • For each study, consider the sample population used, errors that could occur in the research process, and how meaningful and important the results of the study are

    Post a 2- to 3-paragraph response that includes the following information:

    • Identify two ”Focus on…” sections you have chosen to review and provide a brief summary of the content.

    • For each topic, discuss whether you think the sample is representative of the population being studied. What criteria did you use to decide this? Comparing Statistical Studies Essay

    • Was the sample chosen in a way that is likely to introduce bias? What kinds of errors are likely to be associated with each study? Explain.

    • Based on what you read, do you believe that the results of each study are meaningful and important? Explain.

    • Based on the responses above, which do you think is the stronger study? Why?

    Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week’s Learning Resources or to something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced. Comparing Statistical Studies Essay

  • NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format

    NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format

    Evidence-Based Practice Project Format

     
    Use the following format and headings when constructing your final evidence-based practice project proposal paper for HCA 699.

     

    Title page

    Abstract (350-500 words)

    Contains project title, project director’s name, and affiliation.

    Presents a complete and concise overview of all phases of the proposed project.

    Section A: Problem Description

    Section B: Literature Support

    Section C: Solution Description

    Section D: Change Model

    Section E:
    Implementation Plan

    Section F: Evaluation

    Appendices

    Critical Appraisal Checklists

    Evaluation Table

    Conceptual Models

    Timeline

    Resource List

    Proposal Instruments

    Data Collection Tool

    Budget

    Optional

    Approval Forms

    Handouts

    Evaluation Tools

     
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    HCA 620: Evidence-Based Practice Project Student Example

    Table of Contents

    Generating Evidence for Evidence-based Practice

    Part 1: Introduction

    The problem statement ………………………………….……………………….……….3

    The evidence-based question ………………………………………..……….……….…4

    Part 2:  Assemble relevant evidence & related literature

    Locating credible evidence………………………………………………….……………3

    Appraise the evidence……………………………………………………….……………4

    Part 3:  Implementation of the intervention

    Planning of change………………………………………………………………..…….8-9

    Clinical protocol and pilot project………………………………………………9-14 & 23

    Integration and Maintenance …………………………………………………….…..14-15

    Barriers and strategies………………………………………………….……………15-18

    Part 4: Conclusion ………………………………………………..…………………………….18

    Part 5: References……………………………………………………………………………20-22

    Part 6: Appendices …………………………………………………………..…………….……23

    Management of Mechanically Ventilated Patients: Pilot Project ……………………23-24

    Questions for Patient Ventilator Rounds ………………………………………………..25

    Methodological matrix ………………………………………………………………26-28

    Prevention In-Service Flyer ………………………………………………………….…29

     

    Problem Statement

    The development of pneumonia caused by mechanical ventilation is a significant problem in the intensive care units of hospital facilities. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the “most commonly reported healthcare-acquired infection” in patients requiring mechanical ventilation support (Garcia et al., 2009, p. 524). One of the most common reasons for an ICU admission is related to respiratory distress or failure. VAP is described as a form of nosocomial infection which occurs after the first 48 hours of receiving mechanical ventilation (Augustyn, 2007). The length of stay (LOS) for patients developing VAP is higher than those never requiring mechanical ventilation by an increase of approximately six days (Garcia et al. 2009). In intensive care units (ICUs) across the United States (US), ventilator-acquired pneumonia also results in prolonged periods of actual mechanical ventilation, the excess use of antimicrobial products, increased utilization of healthcare resources and costs, and significant increase in morbidity and mortality (Coffin et al., 2008). Garcia et al. (2009) found on average, estimated costs of an additional $11, 897 to $150,841 per individual case were spent. VAP has a significant economic impact on our society, costing hospitals money which potentially could have been saved. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format.

    Numerous risks factors contribute to the development of ventilator-acquired pneumonia as mechanical ventilation presents a unique set of challenges for the patient requiring intubation and ventilator support. Rigorous clinical studies show oral secretions pose an increased risk for developing VAP (Augustyn, 2007). Treatments, strategies and evidence-based interventions have been developed to decrease the risks and reduce the prevalence of VAP. There is evidence indicating the use of oral chlorhexidine and the removal of oral secretions before position changes may diminish the risks of developing ventilator-acquired pneumonia. By reducing the levels of bacteria in the oropharynx there would theoretically be a decrease in the prevalence of nosocomial pneumonia (Houston et al., 2002). Research demonstrates the use of 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse (CHX) pre and postoperatively reduces the incidence of VAP in patients who are intubated greater than 24 hours. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format.

    Foreground Question

    In adults supported with mechanical ventilation, what is the effect of oral chlorhexidine use and removal of oral secretions prior to position changing on the development of ventilator-acquired pneumonia?

    Review of Evidence and Synthesis of Literature

    This is a literature analysis of research reports and literature reviews which studied the effects of removal of oral secretions prior to position change on the occurrence of VAP. A summary of the articles can be found in Appendix C. The studies varied in design; from randomized to non-randomized, placebo, to longitudinal and a pilot study. Strength for each study is noted at Level II on the hierarchy as each one is a randomized or nonrandomized clinical study. The research supports our clinical question and was utilized with the development of additions to be incorporated into the already existing ICU VAP protocol.

    The studies focused on in this review consisted of evidence evaluating oral secretion removal and the use of chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse to prevent VAP. The cost effectiveness of these interventions was found to be significant. Studies showed oral secretions as being the medium to carry pathogens within the oropharyngeal site down into the respiratory track. The literature hypothesized removing oral secretions prior to the position change of a patient can prevent or minimize the movement of organisms into the respiratory tract which lead to VAP development. Some researchers also concluded the significance of chlorhexidine use for reducing nosocomial infections. The combination of both interventions creates a profound effect on reducing VAP occurrences its research importance, which this practice change aims to strongly support. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format.

    The review of literature consists of evidence dating from 1996 to 2008, indicating the need for continued research and close monitoring of clinical practice changes based on the best evidence at the moment. This problem was identified long ago and yet still needs further evidence for best practice. Three articles discuss removing oral secretions prior to position changes of patients which are one of the two independent variables of interest for this review. In one of those studies, VAP was diagnosed in 24 of 159 patients in the control group, but only in five of 102 patients in the study group within the study group receiving oral suctioning prior to all position changes (Chao, Chen, Wang, Lee, & Tsai, 2008). A similar study showed VAP occurrence at 2.6% in the study group and 11% in the control group with probability of < 0.001 (Tsai, Lin, Chang, 2008). Studies by DeRiso et al. (1996) and Houston et al. (2002) each sought to evaluate the efficacy of oropharyngeal decontamination on nosocomial infections in patients undergoing heart surgery using CHX before and after surgery. Both DeRiso et al. and Houston et al. discovered an overall reduced rate of VAP (52% and 69% respectively for each study). The significance level for both studies was less than .01 (use the higher of the two) with the use of CHX with oral suctioning of subjects for these studies. Another related intervention assessed in a similar randomized clinical study was the use of subglottal suctioning by Smulders et al. (2002) and its effect on VAP incidence. This intervention was appropriate for this review of literature; four percent of patients who underwent continuous suctioning developed VAP as compared to 16% in the control group. A common finding in the studies reviewed was the savings in spite of the costs of using CHX and equipment for oral and subglottal secretion removal. The majority of these studies revealed a significantly reduced duration of mechanical ventilation and LOS in the ICU. All research studies in this literature review, with the exception of Tsai et al.’s study, consisted of study groups homogenous in patient samples, which suggest effective randomization. Tsai et al.’s study has patient heterogeneity (of both medical and surgical ICU patients) which may have confounded the results. Also, the results of Chao et al.’s study did yield a significant difference with the distribution of patients having a history of COPD, DM, use of antacids, and surgery. These variables were then evaluated with logistic regression for their relationship in VAP development, and the results of the logistic regression showed no significant impact on the direct development. Overall the reviews are well organized, use appropriate language, and use mostly all paraphrasing. This review summarizes key finding of evidence for clinical practice, and provides similar conclusions like our study regarding interventions to implement in practice. This literature review consisted of all but one study which were experimental in nature and hold “a high degree of internal validity because of the use of manipulation and randomization” (Polit & Beck, 2008, p. 295). Tsai et al.’s study was a time-sequenced, non-randomized quasi-experimental study most vulnerable to threats to internal validity out of all the literature reviewed. But the remaining study participants in the rest of these experimental designs were all randomized after meeting inclusion criteria. Only two studies (by Houston et al. and Tsai et al.) may have had questionable internal validity. Houston et al.’s study group was large but possibly too broad with subjects intubated for too short of a period to have the intervention be significant. This provides evidence for the need to implement such an intervention and continue research. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. This may have led to potential Type I and II errors. Tsai et al.’s weakness was the limitation of a non-randomized control study and patient heterogeneity as previously mentioned. In addition, Chao et al. used a staff nurse of the ICU to conduct data collection; because it is her ICU she may want “her unit” to do well with compliance with the study, creating bias. Also, in both this and Smulders et al.’s studies suctioning pressure was discussed. Internal consistency was not documented and this lack of information affects the reliability of the measurement tools. Selection bias does not appear to be a concern in these studies, and there appears to be no threat of history and the groups were mainly homogenous. Overall the internal validity of the research in this literature review is rather strong taking into consideration these few discussed weaknesses. Regarding external validity, the research findings in these studies can easily be generalized to similar mechanically-ventilated ICU adult populations. The patient populations were representative of the typical ICU population and because of this, external validity is strong. Steps were taken to control characteristics which could impact the groups being compared, and any requirements for participants were taken into consideration when developing the sample. The study by DeRiso et al. was double-blinded and placebo-controlled in design techniques, and Smulders et al.’s study reported blinding with the radiologists in regards to reading all X-ray reports. These techniques enhanced the internal validity. The studies were each performed in only one setting, but could very easily be replicated in another ICU environment. Tsai et al. and Chao et al.’s studies had a period during their research which was dedicated to educating staff on the protocol to be implemented to the experimental group. This enhanced intervention fidelity in both studies. Also, the individual collecting the data from Chao et al.’s study group was a trained staff member of the ICU floor, and such actions facilitated a strong reaction with the intervention and validated construct. No incentives were provided to staff members for compliance with Chao et al.’s study, but staff was aware of the fact that the clinical setting was being monitored and data collected based upon their performance. However, normally nurses are not monitored closely and corrected for actions. Education for new changes to protocols is usually brief, and like any change, will take some time for the staff to acclimate to. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. There appears to be no apparent threat to construct validity with the discussed literature. However one could argue the researcher’s expectancies for desired outcomes playing an effect. For example, Tsai et al. and Chao et al.’s studies involved the staff received a thorough education and period of time to learn the protocol for the study’s intervention. Knowing the researcher’s expectations, this could “become part of the treatment construct that is being tested” (Polit and Beck, 2008, p. 301). Researchers appropriately balanced all concerns for validity in their study. Planning a Change After critically analyzing the evidence, the nurse develops a plan to apply the findings to a clinical practice. Developing a plan for change includes identifying strategies to gain cooperation and evaluating outcomes. Once it is decided that evidence supports a practice change, the change agent or facilitators must develop and test the improvement. This step requires some preliminary planning and research. Is the innovation practical, the evidence transferable, is the organization ready for change, are outcomes measurable and will is it possible to implement the EBP within the organization (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh & White, 2007) ? If the answers are agreeable, the innovation must be authorized through the appropriate organizational channels. The implementation of an evidence-based practice is considered a quality improvement initiative and does not require the hospital Institutional Review Board approval. The Quality Care Committee, which oversees process improvement, protocol, and policy changes, will review and approve this proposed implementation of evidence-based practice, as part of the initial planning. The planning phase includes assessing the feasibility of change, defining the change, identifying resources, and defining the desired outcomes (Reavy & Tavernier, 2008). NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. The proposed EBP innovation is to complement the policy for oral care and suctioning of mechanically ventilated patients with a 10% chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse and increase suctioning to every two hours prior to repositioning. These interventions can also be increased according to the patients’ needs. The expected outcomes of the change are improved patient care, reduced costs related to VAP infection and increased lengths of stay, and the reduction of the incidence of VAP in patients mechanically ventilated for more than 24 hours. The project feasibility is very good, due to the small scale of the intervention, the ease of implementation into protocol already in place, it’s compatibility with the practice environment, and it is simple to test in a small sample (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh & White, 2007). Other aspects contributing to the project’s potential for success is the availability of ample resources including the Quality Care Committee, Clinical Nurse Specialist, ICU Nurse Educator, Unit Preceptors, Clinical Managers, and Infection Control Nurse. Implementation and Evaluation of Change Proposed Project The authors plan to implement changes in current policy of management of ventilated patients as a pilot project at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea ICU. The change will be to add chlorhexidine rinse for oral care every two hours and suctioning of oral secretions prior to repositioning the patient. The data will be collected on all ventilated patients during daily multidisciplinary team vent rounds by the infection control nurse. See Appendix A for pilot project with current changes in policy. We plan to implement the change at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea medical surgical ICU from June 1, 2010 to April 1, 2011.   Implementation Plan To enhance the patient outcome during hospitalization, an evidence-based pilot project will be implemented. As mentioned earlier, the problem of VAP pertains to all ventilated patients in different ICUs, but it is easier to start the pilot project in one unit and expand it to the other ICUs of the Scottsdale Healthcare hospitals after assessing the effectiveness of the plan and making any necessary changes after the evaluation process. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. The authors propose to implement the pilot project initially in the ICU of Scottsdale Healthcare at Shea campus. The plan will be presented to the ICU nurse manager, supervisors, infection control nurse, and the clinical educator of the ICU to obtain permission and approval in order to implement the plan. The plan will also be presented to Quality Care Committee May 2010 meeting for their permission for the change. After obtaining permission for the plot project, evidence base education material containing prevalence of VAP rate, its complications, cost, recommended change with use of chlorhexidine gluconate in oral care, and oral secretion suctioning prior to position change will be presented to the staff during ICU Unit Base Committee (UBC). Four more teaching sessions will be provided, two in each day and night shift, so that staff can attend a session which is more convenient to them. All the registered nurses working in ICU will be required to attend one of the teaching sessions. The teaching session or in-service will be on May 20, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. These times are chosen to make it convenient for nurses to attend the in-service before going home at the end of their shift. Two more teaching sessions will be provided on May 23, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon and from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Six brochures to notify staff of the in-service dates and times will be prepared and placed in the restrooms, break rooms and in hallways within the unit (Appendix D). A power point presentation along with two poster boards containing evidence based information about VAP prevalence and its outcomes and changes in practice will be prepared and presented to staff during the in-service. One poster board will be placed in break room and the other poster will be placed in meeting room of ICU to enhance teaching. Time for answering any questions will be provided at the end of the teaching session. The teaching will be conducted in an informal way, and the research assistant will be available to re-educate and answer questions for staff as needed. One day shift nurse and one night shift nurse will be prepared by the nurse educator to do the teaching for the rest of the ICU staff. The physicians and respiratory therapists of ICU will also be notified of this evidence based plan so they will be knowledgeable about this VAP pilot project. The resources needed for the implementation of this plan are two poster boards, a power point, and a jump drive to store the teaching material. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. Also required would be the chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse, which would be ordered from pharmacy for each ventilated patient in the intervention group. The other resources needed are the staff education time for the RNs who are teaching the in-service and the staff who is attending the in-service. There are twenty-three day shift RNs and twenty night shift RNs in ICU who will need to attend these in-services, so one hour in-service for each RN will need forty-three hours of education time for registered nurses in addition to five hours of teaching time for the RNs who are teaching these in-services. Most of the cost of this project is the cost of education time for the staff nurses. The two poster boards will cost seven dollars each, a small jump drive for twenty dollars and the power point is free. The cost of chlorhexidine is also negligible when compared with the cost of VAP. This will be the money well spent and pay for itself with shorter length of stay of ventilated patients due to VAP prevention or reduction. This project will save money for the hospital by improving patient outcome and decreasing VAP rates and the hospital length of stay. Having a theoretical framework enhances the worth of the study according to Polit and Beck (2008). This plan will be guided by the Kurt Lewin’s change theory to improve delivery of information to staff. Lewin’s change theory involves a three stage model of change, which are unfreezing, change, and re-freezing (Neil, 2004). The first stage of unfreezing involves the concept of becoming motivated to change or unfreeze from previous practices. In ICU, the staff will be prepared for the change by explaining them the magnitude of the problem, so that they feel the need for the change. They will be notified about the statistics of VAP prevalence and the magnitude of the complications of VAP. These measures will motivate the staff for a change in practice. The second stage of Lewin’s change theory is implementation of the change. This stage is the actual stage of alteration and will be most essential in maintaining consistency with the use of chlorhexidine in oral care and suctioning the patients prior to position change. Support will be provided to staff during this stage by answering their questions and addressing any concerns they have. The registered nurses will implement the learned techniques of using chlorhexidine in oral care and suction patients prior to position change every two hours and as needed for the duration of plot project from June 1, 2010 to April 1, 2011. The multidisciplinary vent round will continue to enforce the change and collect data on ventilated patients. The physicians will also be supported and welcomed for their input in this process. Lewin’s final stage of the change theory is the concept of re-freezing or making the change permanent. In this last stage of change theory, the newly learned changes become habitual for the staff (Neil, 2004). The staff will be reinforced and encouraged to continue to follow the recommended changes at each month’s staff meeting and daily multidisciplinary vent rounds for the duration of pilot project. The staff will also be encouraged for their feedback on this project. They will also be reinforced about this newly learned skill at the annual skills fair and have opportunity to get their questions answered. The future of the healthcare is moving towards pay for performance measures and this teaching plan will lead Scottsdale Healthcare towards delivering a better patient outcome. Evaluation Plan The evaluation of this teaching plan is relatively simple. The infection control nurse keeps the data of VAP rate of all ventilated patients. The data including VAP rate obtained by infection control nurse from vent rounds during the pilot project will be compared with the VAP rate of ventilated ICU patients of this unit from the previous year. The VAP rate during pilot project for the months of June 1, 2010 to April 1, 2011 will be compared with the VAP rate of previous year for the months of June 1, 1009 to April 1, 2010 to promote validity. The types of patients vary by season, and by doing this we increase the likelihood of having a similar patient population which is representative of the months of June to April. These findings will be discussed among the ICU manager, supervisors, clinical educator and infection control nurse in May 2011 upon completion of pilot project. A decision will be taken to adopt the change or reject the change depending on the findings if VAP rate was reduced or not. Dissemination Plan The staff will be will be notified of the project completion in monthly staff meeting in May 2011. The goal of this dissemination plan is to utilize this new research or evidence based information to improve patient outcome. If the finding suggests a decrease in VAP rate during pilot project, the change will need to be implemented to other ICUs of Scottsdale Healthcare. All the nurses at Scottsdale Healthcare ICUs will need to be reached to ensure that everyone can benefit from this information. Since the problem of VAP pertains to all the ICUs of Scottsdale Healthcare hospitals this information needs to be disseminated to the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea CVICU, and eventually to ICUs at Osborn and Thompson Peak campuses. With the permission from the PCC’s chair, the committee will be presented with recommended changes. The project will be presented in detail and the importance of the need for a change in practice for VAP reduction will be stressed with the supporting evidence. Again the goal will be to obtain permission to expand the changes to CVICU of Scottsdale Healthcare Shea. Two to four nurses from each floor can be prepared to teach the rest of the staff on CVICU. In-service time to prepare them will be arranged at a convenient time. The power point presentation containing the teaching material will be made available to all the hospital employees on the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea campus’s Special Care Unit’s web site. This will promote access to the teaching contents for the staff. The other sources of information will be the RNs of ICU who performed the in-service for their staff. A copy of this plan will be made available to the staff through Scottsdale Healthcare Library also. To include Osborn and Thompson Peak in the teaching plan, the Nursing Leadership Committee will be approached, where the nursing managers from all three campuses are available. They will also be approached the same way as mentioned above to disseminate the pilot project recommended changes plan to the two other campuses. The resources, the contents of the VAP teaching plan, and the medium will be made accessible to them as well. A dissemination plan as mentioned above will be carried out in a similar fashion for the other two campuses also. Integration and Maintenance of Change Initiating the changes to the pre-existing protocol would first involve several steps as previously mentioned. There would be a decision on who would be collecting the research data. After the Quality Care Committee approves the change, we would select a research assistant experienced in infection control to collect data and monitor the process during the study. This study would also require a qualified personal to educate the staff on the protocol changes and be available to answer any questions which may arise. The pilot study (see Appendix A) would then take place. Prior to the study, daily rounds are completed on each ventilated patient to collect information for VAP. After implementing this study, this research assistant would accompany the ventilator rounds team and collect information applicable to the study. This would help facilitate monitoring the process and outcomes of the intervention. See Appendix B for examples of major questions included during ventilator rounds. Questions italicized would be additions made to the rounds during the study for data collection purposes. This information on VAP rates and patient length of stay after implementing the new interventions would be put together and submitted to the appropriate committees. Integrating the new policy on the unit, staff will be much more likely to accept and support the new process if they know what to expect at each phase of the change. Additionally, staff members are able to contribute ideas drawn from their varied experience. Staff ideas often improve the process, save money, and avoid potential obstacles (Gotsill & Natchez, 2007). Implementing this change of protocol would involve the cooperation of both the research and hospital staff. Communication between both groups is crucial, and a key concept of implementing a practice change. Providing updates to the Quality Care Committee, Infection Control Team, unit manager, and the staff throughout the study would be crucial. Quarterly feedback to the staff alone will help visually show their cooperation in this study and the beneficial outcomes yielded from the implementation change. Barriers and Strategies of Change           The work environment healthcare professionals face daily is demanding. Nurses manage heavy workloads and high acuity patients along with staffing shortages and cost cuts, which reduce all available resources. This creates challenges to implementing new policies, protocols, or evidence-based practice (EBP). Some of the potential barriers to implementing EBP clinical changes can be categorized as individual, organizational, environmental, and communication based barriers (Udod & Care, 2006) . Although it appears to be an impossible task, there are many strategies to help gain cooperation from the individuals responsible for implementing change. A few strategies are managerial support, clearly written research, exposure to real-life case studies, role modeling, staff engagement opportunities, and psychosocial support (Udod & Care; Thompson, Bell & Prevost, 1999) . NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. Potential Barriers to Implementing EBP Healthcare professionals have reported a variety of barriers to implementing EBP. Nurses can be skeptical, especially if they have misperceptions, fears, or anxiety that prevents them from having a clear vision when implementing change (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2005). Individual barriers include a lack of competence of nurses and managers regarding the implementation of EBP strategies, a lack of academic skills, and an inability to apply research to practice as evidenced by the large research-practice gap that exists in the profession (Udod & Care, 2006). Overwhelming workloads may also leave nurses drained, lacking motivation, confidence, awareness, and time (Thompson, Bell & Prevost, 1999). Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt state that barriers to EBP implementation and adherence are oftentimes related to individual attitudes. A lack of confidence in the plan or its creator, an inability to visualize a positive outcome, or doubt in one’s own skills are a few examples (2005). Some individual barriers can be associated with the organization. However, nurses must overcome other organizational barriers. Examples are administrative constraints such as a lack of funding for skill development, opposing managerial priorities, or a lack of support from management and administration (Udod & Care, 2006). Other workplace barriers are difficulty accessing journals and evidence to support EBP, peer pressure to continue traditional practices, patient demands for widely prescribed treatment, and heavy patient loads which prevent learning and EBP implementation (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2005). Nursing professionals face environmental barriers, as well, in the implementation of EBP. EBP can be affected by government policy or may be controlled by laws and legislation. An example is the use of medical marijuana for nausea and anorexia in cancer patients, which is illegal in many states. Coworkers and managers with different agendas in the workplace can be considered an environmental barrier to change. Occasionally an organization has such a fast moving culture of change, it leaves nurses too overwhelmed to cope (Udod & Care, 2006). Finally, there are communication barriers in every aspect of life. The implementation of EBP can be affected by a lack of appropriate collaboration and communication between every level of provider involved including researchers, nurses, educators, managers, and administrators (Thompson, Bell & Prevost, 1999). Communication errors and barriers can occur in the educational programs and training for EBP, the interpretation of research, and in publications and presentations (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2005). This issue can be further complicated with the addition of multidisciplinary involvement, which requires another level of communication to be successful. Strategies for Successful Implementation of EBP The implementation of EBP provides for safer, more cost-effective care with patient-specific interventions. In order to accomplish this, organizations must employ a plan to gain cooperation from the individuals who are responsible for implementing the EBP. Successful implementation requires organizational change and buy-in. The most important strategy for EBP implementation is ensuring the support of the organization and management. This will assist in eliminating constraints, allow for budgeting and possibly funding for education and incentives, and provide encouragement and persuasion as the organization forms its opinion about the EBP implementation (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh & White, 2007). Nurses and physicians cite the desire for clearly written research reports and exposure to case studies where EBP resulted in improved outcomes. Providing appropriate education and tools for EBP implementation and ensuring access to evidence will reinforce and help providers understand the benefits (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2005). Psychosocial support is an important strategy, which simply means nurses are enabled and encouraged to perform the desired change. This is accomplished with good education, clear-cut expectations, reinforcement, acknowledgement, and rewards. Another similar strategy is role modeling nursing practice. This is done by demonstrating commitment and supporting the cause for advancing the EBP, while performing or educating staff about the desired change. Staff involvement is important when implementing change. Strategies can include encouraging nurse participation in a journal club or other collaborative opportunity to share evidence. Super users, trainers, champions or stakeholders, whatever title one chooses, can be trained to coach staff and provide collegial support and role modeling. Staff can also share in leadership and decision-making, give their feedback and opinions, and contribute new ideas regarding EBP implementation through Shared Leadership, focus groups, and surveys. This allows the organization to measure nursing staff knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs and identify implementation challenges (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2005). Conclusion The evidence in totality supports this practice change. This implemented change would include the variables of interest discussed previously in the literature review and pilot plan. The benefits of such an intervention change have the potential to support EBP and nursing practice. Contrary to the misperceptions many nurses have about EBP, it does not take away from the nurses’ clinical expertise. EBP integrates the best care with research evidence, patient’s individualized needs, preferences and circumstances (Polit & Beck, 2006). It also allows for exceptions in clinical setting and resource constraints. EBP can also be used as a problem-solving strategy in clinical care by taking away decisions based on custom, authority, opinion, or ritual (Polit & Beck). NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. References American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. (2005). AACN procedure manual for critical             care, (5 th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (rev. 1 0/07). AACN Practice alert: Oral care in the critically ill. Retrieved June 3,2008 from http://www.aacn.orgIWD/PracticeIDOCS/Oral_ Care_in_the_ pdf(Augustyn B 2007 Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Risk factors and p (Augustyn B 2007 Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Risk factors and prevention)Augustyn, B. (2007). Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Risk factors and prevention. Critical Care Nurse, 27, 32-39. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/search ? (Chao Y C Chen Y Wang K K Lee R Tsai H 2008 Removal of secretions prior to position change can reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia for adult ICU patients: A clinical controlled study)Chao, Y. C., Chen, Y., Wang, K. K., Lee, R., & Tsai, H. (2008). Removal of secretions prior to position change can reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia for adult ICU patients: A clinical controlled study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, 22-28. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.02193.x (Coffin S E Klompas M Classen D Arias K M Podgorny K Anderson D JYokoe D S 2008 Strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia)Coffin, S. E., Klompas, M., Classen, D., Arias, K. M., Podgorny, K., Anderson, D. J.,…Yokoe, D. S. (2008). Strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 29, 31-40. doi:10.1086/591062 DeRiso, A., Ladowski, J., Dillon, T., Justice, J., & Peterson, A. (1996). Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12% oral rinse reduces the incidence of total nosocomial respiratory infection and non-prophylactic systemic antibiotic use in patients undergoing heart surgery. CHEST, 109 (6), 1556-1561. (Garcia R Jendresky L Colbert L Bailey A Zaman M Majumder M 2009 Reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia through advanced oral-dental care: A 48-mont study)Garcia, R., Jendresky, L., Colbert, L., Bailey, A., Zaman, M., & Majumder, M. (2009). Reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia through advanced oral-dental care: A 48-month study. American Journal of Critical Care, 18, 523-532. doi:10.4037/ajcc2009311 Gotsill, G., & Natchez, M. (2007). From resistance to acceptance: How to implement change management. Training & Development , 61 (11), 24-27. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/search (Hsieh H Tuite P 2008 Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: What nurses can do)Houston, S., Houghland, P., Anderson, J., LaRocco, M., Kennedy, V., & Gentry, L. (2002). Effectiveness of 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse in reducing prevalence of nosocomial pneumonia in patients undergoing heart surgery. American Journal of Critical Care, 11, 567-570. McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2007). Theoretical basis for nursing (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Melnyk, B., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2005). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format Neil, J. (2004, June 04). Unfreeze-change-refreeze or square-blob-star model of change. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://wilderdom.com/theory/UnfreezeCgangeRefreeze.html Newhouse, R., Dearholt, S., Poe, S., Pugh, L., & White, K. (2007, December 1). Organizational change strategies for evidence-based practice. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 37 (12), 552-557. (Polit D F Beck C T 2008 Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice)Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2008). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Willkins. Reavy, K., & Tavernier, S. (2008, April). Nurses reclaiming ownership of their practice: Implementation of an evidence-based practice model and process. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 39 (4), 166-172. Smulders, K., Hoeven, H., Pothoff, I. W., & Grauls, C. V. (2002). A randomized clinical trial of intermittent subglottic secretion drainage in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. CHEST , 121 , 858-862. Thompson, P., Bell, P., & Prevost, S. (1999, February). Overcoming barriers to research-based practice. MedSurg Nursing, 8 (1), 59-63. Tsai, H. H., Lin, F. C., & Chang, S. C. (2008). Intermittent suction of oral secretions before each positional change may reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia: A pilot study. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences , 336 , 397-401. doi:10.1097/MAJ.0b013e31816b8761 Udod, S., & Care, W. (2006, October). Setting the climate for evidence-based nursing practice: What is the leader’s role? Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership, 17 (4), 64-75. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format. Appendix A Management of Mechanically Ventilated Patients: Pilot Project Goals/outcomes The patient will maintain adequate breathing pattern to provide appropriate oxygenation and acid / base balance while providing respiratory muscle rest. The incidence for VAP will be reduced due to EBP pilot project interventions. Definitions Acid/base balance = determined by pH values from arterial blood gas VAP = Ventilator Associated Pneumonia RCP = respiratory care practitioner EBP = evidence based practice Assessment Assess and document breath sounds every four (4) hours and as needed. Monitor and verify ventilator settings every two (2) hours and as needed. Assure that ventilator alarm volumes are audible at all times. Monitor arterial blood gases per physician order. Notify physician as needed. Interventions Wash hands with antiseptic soap and water or apply alcohol-based hand gel before and after performing interventions. The patient will be assigned to a hospital bed allowing maximum visibility at all times. Utilize oral airway if patient is obstructing oral endotracheal tube. Suction as needed; document amount, color and character of tracheal secretions. (Utilize humidified oxygen set-up to maximize mobilization of secretions.) Reposition every two hours and as needed (unless contraindicated), suction oral   Appendix A Continued secretions prior to position change. Elevate head of bed to at least 30 degrees (unless contraindicated). Use oral cleaning and suction system. Brush teeth and tongue a minimum of once every 12 hour shift. Provide oral care every 2 hours with chlorhexidine rinse. Perform oral suctioning every two hours and prior to position change. Document and report to physician significant changes in pulmonary status and secretions through collaboration of RCP and RN. Culture tracheal secretions per physician’s order. Keep Ambu-bag mask and adapter with patient at all times for transport and/or emergency. If the patient exhibits signs/symptoms of respiratory distress or ventilator alarm sounds and problem cannot be quickly identified, disconnect patient from the ventilator, manually ventilate, and call for appropriate assistance. Reduce anxiety by: Explaining all procedures to the patient. Providing alternative methods of communication while intubated. Re-assuring the patient that extraneous alarms are normal and do not usually indicate an emergency situation. Indicate appropriate medical personnel are always close by. Placing the “nurse call” button within patient’s reach. Administering sedatives/analgesics as ordered. Weaning – Follow specific weaning/extubation orders per respiratory protocol or as written by the physician. NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format   Supportive Data See Reference list Appendix B Questions for Patient Ventilator Rounds   Patient Care Question Answer from Staff Hospital day number Number of days ventilated Oral care Q2 Use or Chlorhexidine with oral care* Removal of secretions prior to position changes* Head of bed 30 degrees Repositioning Every 2 hours       SUP prophylaxis DVT prophylaxis Sedation vacation White Blood Cell Count Temperature (max/low in 24 hours)   “*” indicates interventions added to the current existing protocol     Appendix C Methodological Matrix and Evaluation Matrix Author Pub Yr Country Theory Dependent Variables Independent Variables Study design Sample size Sampling Method How data collected DeRiso, A. Ladowski, J.Dillon, T. Justice, J.Peterson, A. 2002 USA Quanti-tative   nosocomial infections   chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse   Prospective randomized placebo-controlled double-blind experiment 353 Randomized surgical patients undergoing heart surgery data analyzed of patient outcomes after interventions complete Houston, S. Hougland, P. Anderson, J. LaRocco, M. Kennedy, V Gentry, L. 1996 USA Quanti-tative nosocomial pneumonia chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format Prospective Randomized case-controlled 561 Randomized surgical patients undergoing heart surgery Observation &Self report   Appendix C Methodological Matrix and Evaluation Matrix Continued       Author Pub Year Country Theory Dependent Variables Independent Variables Study Design Sample Size Sampling Method How data collected Smulders, K., Hoeven, H., Pothoff, I. W., & Grauls, C. V.       2002 Nether- lands     None Incidence of VAP; duration of mechanical ventilation; length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; and mortality Intermittent suctioning of subglottic secretion with 100mg Hg for 8 sec. duration and 20 sec. interval. A randomized clinical Trial N = 150   Study group= 75   Control gp= 75 Random assignment of patients into experimental or control group, who were admitted to ICU over 13 month period and were expected to receive mechanical ventilation >3 days

    Observation &

    Self report

    Chao, Y. C.,

    Chen, Y.,

    Wang, K. K.,

    Lee, R.,

    & Tsai, H

     

     

    2008

    Taipei, Taiwan

    Not listed in Article but assumed by reader= Germ Theory of

    Louis Pasteur

    Pulmonary infection causing VAP

    Removal of secretions prior to position change

    2-group comparison randomized study

    Control group= 159

     

    Study group= 102

    Random ICU patient admission.

    Patients 18 yrs of age or older.

    On a ventilator for more than 24 hours.

     

    (Those with pneumonia before intubation or within 48 hours after intubation were excluded)

    Observation &

    Self report from staff

    Appendix C

    Methodological Matrix and Evaluation Matrix Continued

    Author

    Pub Year

    Country

    Theory

    Dependent Variables

    Independent

    Variables

    Study Design

    Sample

    Size

    Sampling Method

    How data collected

    H-H Tsai,

    F-C Lin,

    S-C Chang

     

     

     

     

     

    2008

    Taiwan

    None

    VAP occurrence and incidence

    Intermittent suction of Oral Secretions before each position change

    NUR 699/ HCA 699 Evidence-Based Practice Project Format

    Quasi-exp. Non-randomized

    Pilot Study

    Study group= 227

     

    Control group= 237

    All patients admitted to ICU who did not have:

    endotracheal intubation (EI) and mechanical ventilation

    (MV) more than 3 days prior to ICU admission, presence of tracheostomy, pneumonia before ICU admission, non-ventilated, EI & MV < 48 Hours, ICU admission less than 48 Hours.   Self-report and observation by senior staff         Appendix D VAP Prevention In- Service Flyer VAP Prevention In-service for New Interventions!   Mandatory for All Nursing Staff in ICU. Please attend one of the following:

  • Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Investigated Disease Process

    A major depressive disorder, also referred to as depression, is a condition affecting 16.1 million adults in the United States each year (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2016). As a leading cause of disability in the world, depression is considered a common anxiety disorder that affects 1 in 13 adults globally (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). The 2016 Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) state and county data report, which is used to estimate the prevalence of personal health behaviors that contribute to morbidity and mortality among adults in Florida, concluded that approximately 9.2% of adults in Miami Dade County suffer from depression, compared to a 11.3 % in the state of Florida. (Philip, 2016)  The condition affects men and women alike; yet is most prevalent among women.

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    Major depression limits an individual’s ability to perform daily activities. Based on the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (4
    th
    ed.), major depressive episodes occur for a period of two weeks or longer, reflects a change in a person’s daily functioning, and changes a person’s mood or loss of interest (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017).m Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    This paper will: (1) identify depression (the pathophysiology, standard of practice, and factors that contribute to a patient’s ability to manage depression); (2) analyze depression and how it affects patients, families, and populations (financial costs associated with depression for patients families, and the populations from diagnosis to treatment); and (3) promote best practices for managing depression in my current healthcare organization (including three strategies used to implement best practices for managing depression and the appropriate method of evaluating the implementation of each of the strategies).

    A1. Pathophysiology of Depression

    Unfortunately, the pathophysiology of depression has not been clearly defined. There appears to be a correlation between neurotransmitter availability, receptor regulation, and affective symptom sensitivity (Verdujin et al., 2015). Meta-analyses support the major depressive disorders are affected by specific pathophysiological mechanisms, such as inflammation, vitamin D, neurotrophic growth, and hypothalamic-pituitary-axis (Verdujin et al., 2015).  Results suggests that an “upregulation of inflammation” in the brain may be associated with the development of depression (Moylan, Mae, Wray, & Beck, 2013). With a decrease in monoamines and an increase in tryptophan catabolites, the brain has difficulty withstanding the toxins presented. It was also suggested that hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-axis may be another factor contributing to depressive disorders. When the neurogenesis is impaired and hippocampus volumes are reduced, there appears to be a malfunctioning of the glucocorticoid receptor (Verdijin et al., 2015). Based on the increases and decreases within the brain, it is presumed that recurring episodes can be determined via the cortisol levels.

    Patients with depressive disorders may present with normal appearance or display physical symptoms which may vary including weight loss or gain and poor hygiene. Other symptoms of depression may be present, such as: psychomotor retardation, flattening or loss of reacting, and/or psychomotor restlessness or agitation (Olfson, Blanco, & Marcus, 2016).

    A2. Standard of Practice

    A variety of screening instruments, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and stimulation techniques are used for treating patients with depressive disorders (Olfson, Blanco, & Marcus, 2016). According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (2015), questionnaires and rating scales are used as diagnostic assessment evaluation for clinical determination. Although many patients who suffer from depression will end up using a combination of therapies, it is not unusual to begin treatment exclusively with psychotherapy, as it is the least invasive. Ultimately treatments are chosen based on provider recommendation, patient preference, and symptom observations.

    No laboratory studies are available at this time to diagnose depression; however, laboratory results are often used to exclude potential medical conditions that may present similar symptoms. All changes made to medication regimen are based on information provided in rating scales and questionnaires. These standards of practice are generic for Broward County and the state of Florida.

    National standard of practice is very similar as it involves comprehensive assessment based on detailed history, physical examination and mental state examinations for proper establishment of diagnosis. Formulation of treatment plan involves deciding about treatment setting, medications and psychological treatments to be used. Treatment options for management of depression can be broadly be divided into antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and psychosocial interventions. (Gautam, 2017)

    A2a. Pharmacological Treatments

    Evidenced-based pharmacologic therapies utilized in my community are similar to those used nationwide. If nonpharmacological treatments are available, PCPs should ask patients who are initiating depression treatment about preferences for medications or psychotherapy because the ability to address a patient’s treatment preference has been shown to be related to the likelihood of entering depression treatment and better treatment outcomes (Unutzer, 2012) Some forms of treatment drugs that have proven effectiveness include: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs); atypical antidepressants; tricyclic antidepressants; monoamine oxidase inhibitors; and St. John’s wort (Olfson, Blanco, & Marcus, 2016). All of these medications work by balancing neurotransmitters in the brain that affect both mood and emotions.

    Inquiry of evidence was conducted at a local Mental Health / Rehab facility with the authorization from management. Physicians provided a prescribing report which displayed that the majority patients with the diagnosis of depression were prescribed  SSRIs. Many reports and studies emphasize the fact that SSRIs are recommended as first line medication of choice because of the decreased side effect and their higher safety profiles. With use of medications it is important to provide patients with education about the side effects they may encounter such as gastrointestinal disturbances, increased appetite and 
    weight
     gain, loss of sexual desire and other sexual problems such as 
    erectile dysfunction
     and decreased orgasm, agitation, irritability and suicidal ideation. Special emphasis should be made to the adverse effects of stopping medications without the supervision of the prescribing physician.

    Pharmacological treatments are not typically provided independently. Often times, patients are provided with consistent and faster results when medication is combined with psychotherapy. Patients with major depressive disorders who do not respond to drug therapies, have a high risk of suicide and medical morbidity or mortality, and need rapid antidepressant response, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is recommended. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation for treating major depression. For patients who have attempted and failed four medications or ECT treatments, the FDA has also approved the use of vagus nerve stimulation.

     

    A2b. Clinical Guidelines

    Assessment
    .

    Management of depression involves comprehensive assessment based on detailed history, physical and mental state examinations. Obtaining history from all sources including family and or caregivers can be extremely helpful. These patients may present with a combination of symptoms of which include but are not limited to: loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, fatigue, reduced concentration and or attention, reduced self-esteem and or self-confidence, ideas of guilt and unworthiness, pessimistic views of the future, ideas or acts of self-harm or suicide, disturbed sleep and diminished appetite(Blobel, 2015). Assessment should also focus on evaluation for physical illnesses known to play a role in the development of depression for example diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease or known malignancies. Previous surgical history and use of prescription medications and history of substance abuse should also be taken into consideration.

    Diagnosis.

    Patients are screened utilizing one or more of the following patient-reported instruments: Patient Health Questionnaire-9; Beck Depression Inventory or Beck Depression Inventory-II, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, or the center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (Agency for Health Administration in Florida, 2015; Olfson, Blanco, & Marcus, 2016). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale can also be performed by a professional to indicate depression severity. As previously stated no laboratory studies are available to diagnose depression. Laboratory results are often used to rule out medical diagnoses as a contributor to symptoms of depression.

     

    Patient Education.

    Education should be made readily available for the patient and all involved in their care by the prescribing provider. Providers should also refer patient’s information on agencies and organizations that also have resources available such as: The National Institute of Mental Health: Depression; Medline Plus, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), and Families for Depression Awareness.

    Education should include information on the different types of depression and risk factors for each. The signs and symptoms of depression and different ways to treat but most importantly information on crisis intervention. Education provided to patients should be provided in a format which is suitable for patient age, education level and specific depression diagnosis if applicable.

    A2c. Standard Practice of Disease Management

    In 2015 the Florida Medicaid drug therapy management program for behavioral health published the Florida best practice psychotherapeutic medication guidelines for adults. This guideline states a specific goal of beginning the process of symptomatic, syndromal, and functional recovery. The guideline addresses assessment and four different levels of treatment. Treatment options should be discussed with patient and initiation of monotherapy with SSRI’s. (Agency for Healthcare Administration State of Florida, 2015)

    In Miami-Dade County, Florida practitioners in the community together with the CDC have been following documented approaches thru a series of promising practices. These are documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life. In the collaborative care for the management of depressive disorders a model is laid out where the responsibilities for providers is listed. Highlights include the routine screening for depression, the initiation of treatment and coordination of treatment amongst different providers. (The Community Guide)

    The American Psychiatric Association (APA) supports the combination of psychotherapy and medications to treat patients with moderate to severe depression (2016).  According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2017), 44% of individuals with depression receive treatments with medication and a health professional’s services; however, 37% of individuals are left untreated in the United States.

    International rates are more alarming. There has been more than an 18% increase (approximately 300 million) in people worldwide who are diagnosed with depression (WHO, 2017a). Without the proper care, many of these individuals globally are not treated for depression and result in illness and disabilities. Evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatments, such as: interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy; problem-solving therapy; and/or behavioral activation are the first line of treatment used when possible.

    A3. Managed Disease Process

    The goal in the treatment of depression is for the patient to achieve remission and/or to have complete relief of symptoms. Patients should be able to verbalize adequate coping skills for managing their depression as well as resources available to them in moments of crisis. The most important aspect would be for the patients reintegration to the community by returning to work, school and resuming previous functional and social abilities.

    The characteristics of a patient with a managed depression disease process would include presenting with less labile moods, increased interest or pleasure with their activities, higher energy levels, improved concentration and attention span, an increase in self-esteem as well as self-confidence. These patients will not present with ideas of un-worthiness nor will they engage in acts of self-harm, suicide or harm to others. More regular sleep patterns and an increase in appetite are also good signs of a managed depression disease process.

    There is a need to educate patients with depression on successful treatments of the condition. As patients become aware of their condition and understand the signs and symptoms to look out for, he/she may seek treatment earlier in the care of a relapse. Educating patients on the different treatments they are receiving, medication effects, side effects, and anticipated results is very important as it may play a vital role in a patient course of action.

    Involving the patient, family and care providers in this critical process is imperative as it is not uncommon for symptoms to get worse before improvement is noted. Knowing what to expect and what needs to be reported increases the likely hood for treatment compliance and adherence. Access and transportation to all healthcare providers and services for regular follow up visits, medication and crisis management if need be.

    A3a. Disparities

    Many different types of disparities exist in healthcare on a national/local level and across all specialties. Racial disparities among community-dwelling elderly also exist in the United States (Akincigil. Olfson, Siegel, Zurlo, Wakup & Crystal, 2012).  African Americans were less likely to receive a diagnosis and treatment for depression from a health care provider than Hispanic Whites (Akincigil, et al., 2012). A study conducted by Ankur Patel, M.D., with Penn State College of Medicine, concluded that there are significant racial/ethnic and economic disparities regarding mental health services. This conclusion was made after analyzing the race, age, payer, length of stay, average hospital cost, region and income of more than 450,000 hospitalizations during the 5-year period with a primary diagnosis of depression. “Depression is also known to be associated with difficulties in role transitions (e.g. low education, high teen child-bearing, marital disruption, unstable employment) and poor role functioning (e.g., low marital quality, low work performance, low earnings). (Gautam, 2017)

    Most of these are also associated with poor access to stable insurance or funds to cover treatment and medication or alternative therapies for the disease process. WHO states that prevalence of depression varies by WHO region, from a low of 2.6% among males in the western pacific region to 5.9% among females in the African region. The differences in rates for depression across countries have been linked to cultural differences and/or the social effects that expression of the disorder may bring. In China for example the diagnosis of depression is made less frequently than in other Countries. One attribute has been, according to Xu Jun-Mian, M.D., the widespread access Traditional Chinese Medicine. (Jun-Mian, 1987)

    A4. Managed Disease Factors

    There are a variety of social, psychological, and biological factors that contribute to depression (WHO, 2017b). Managing of this disease is ongoing as patients can suffer from relapse in recovery. Life altering events, an increase in stress or even changes to daily routines are factors that contribute to the impaired management of the disease.

    Financial resources are one of the factors that aid in managing this disease. Many times, treatment options require multi-disciplinary continuation of care, combination therapies along with polypharmacy. Some of these therapies may not be covered by healthcare insurance and having access to financial resources creates limitless opportunities for the treatment options.

    A person who is depressed can suffer from a variety of other conditions which lead to or are the cause of the depression. Maintaining control of those diseases will contribute towards the successful management of depression. Patients need to be available to have access to their providers regularly for follow up and medication management. Having means of transportation and or plans in place to be compliant with appointments aids in management of depression.

    Lastly patients need to be able to understand their condition and the treatment plans in order to manage it effectively. Treatment plans change with progression or regression of the disease therefore patient involvement of care plan contributes to disease management in a positive way.

    A4a. Unmanaged Disease Factors

    Depending on the stage of the illness, the frequency and severity of the symptoms will vary. It is important to assess reasons why access to care is compromised so that the underlying reason can be taken care of. Lack of financial resources can lead patients to problems with medication and therapy compliance. This can be a problem for patients who lack insurance. Those who are insured may also struggle with affording the co-payments or services that have been denied or are simply not covered by the insurance. Social service consults may prove to be useful as there are many communities that have resources in place for individuals without access to care or programs patients may qualify for that can ease the financial burden of care maintenance. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    It is important for providers to factor in circumstances that may prove challenging such as those who live in rural areas, have problems with mobility or co morbidities that require them to stay at home. Providers in conjunction with patient and or family should come up with a plan to facilitate access to adequate follow up care.

    Teaching provided and communications have to be reinforced in a language and educational level that can be understood. Not having access to disease resources and crisis prevention contacts can be detrimental for patient and dangerous to those who surround them as well. Teaching and resources should also be provided to caregivers of patients with emphasis on crisis intervention.

    A4ai. Unmanaged Disease Characteristics

    A patient who has unmanaged depression, may experience one or more of the following: persistent sadness or anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, irritability, loss of interest and energy, difficulty concentrating or sleeping, and/or thoughts of suicide (National Institute of Mental Health, 2018).

    Patients, Families, and Populations

    Depression affects patients, families and their communities on a daily basis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics (2016), 7.6% of individuals 12 and over were identified with depression in 2012.  Based on physician visits, 10.3% of patients indicated a prevalence of depression on their medical record. Unfortunately, there were a total of 42,773 suicide deaths in 2014 from individual’s who suffered from depression (CDC, 2016).  These numbers affect families and communities across the country and the world. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Patients

               
    These individuals present with symptoms that affect everyone who comes in contact with them on a daily basis.  The patient’s interpersonal and personal relationships also suffer due to the loss of interest and energy.

    Families

               
    For one they can be at risk for harming themselves or others around them. Because patients may lose interest in regular activities, they may no longer want to participate of play an active role as a part of the family. Special attention should be given to new mothers presenting with depression as they are at a much higher risk of harming themselves and or their newborns.

     

    Populations

    The difficulty concentrating or sleeping can become a challenge for them and affect performance in the workplace which in turn affects the community. Individuals with depression especially when unmanaged have an impact not only on their family but communities as a whole.

    B1. Costs

    Patient

               
    For patients, the cost of depression can vary depending on the different types of treatments received. If a patient has medical insurance they may pay a reduced amount or simply co pays for therapy, medications and medical visits. Some insurances may not cover all medications or alternative therapies which increases the out of pocket expense.

    Families

               
    Families may feel the burden of the cost of depression in different ways. Because family structures and routines vary so much so can the actual costs. Things that may affect these costs are the age of patient with depression, the severity of the condition, need for medications and therapies, and insurance availability to name a few. For one monies will be used to pay for the patient treatments. Another way that families are impacted by the cost is directly related to the patient as many times they can become less productive at work or require caregivers to stay with the patient as well. One of the biggest factors would be the availability of medical insurance to help with offsetting some of the cost. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Populations

    Depression can lead to a variety of financial burdens for individuals and their families. Kessler (2012) identifies how depression can affect employment status, childbearing, marital timing and stability, education or lack thereof, parental and marital functioning, financial success, absences from work, comorbid disabilities, and suicidal instances. There are approximately 7% of employees in the United States that have been diagnosed with major depression (Kuhl, 2018). Among those who suffer from depression, it has been estimated that total economic burden has been $210.5 billion annually. Whether the financial cost has been directly or indirectly related to depression, an enormous amount of money is spent on providing care, treatment and interventions, and daily living of individuals suffered from depression.

    Best Practices Promoting

    Mount Sinai Medical Center (MSMC) was established in 1949. Today, Mount Sinai is a 672-bed hospital with a number of satellite centers throughout Miami-Dade County. MSMC is the largest private independent not-for-profit teaching hospital in South Florida. The Primary Care Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center Family Medicine physicians provide primary care and comprehensive medical evaluations to adults and focus on disease prevention and health promotion. My plan is to promote best practice within the organization for the diagnosing and

    treatment of depression. To begin with I feel it is important to empower providers with knowledge and equip them with the educational resources, evidence based information and skills needed to diagnose, treat, and provide care for patients suffering from depression. One way to do so will be via professional development seminars. These seminars will focus on the importance of routine outpatient screening for depression using a scale. Another practice to be implemented is to require primary care providers and clinics to document the initial and subsequent diagnosing scales. Lastly the importance of following up with patients and their caregivers, ensuring that they have the educational resources and are compliant with their plan of care. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    C1. Implementation Plan

    Professional developments on depression can be provided as a health care organization. Providers to attend these sessions include but are not limited to doctors, therapists, nurses, and case managers. In order to ensure all health care professionals within the organization have the knowledge about the identification and treatment practice, education will be provided detailing diagnosing tools and standards of care. The objective will be for attendees to verbalize the signs and symptoms of the disease, measurement tools used for diagnosing, treatment options, and managing effective care.

    The health care organization will incorporate a mandatory audit for the screening of depression. Scales such as the PHQ2/PHQ9, will become routine during examinations once information is input in Electronic Health Records (EHR) it will be easy to ensure screenings are being performed. Running reports to monitor the patients trends in the depression scoring and identifying patients who did not have the screening performed will allow providers to identify individuals who are at risk and assess the need for intervention. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Once diagnosed it is important to keep track of these patients to ensure that their plan of care is being followed and that the implementation is being executed. It is important to incorporate a systematic approach for identifying, diagnosing, educating patients, providing evidence-based treatments, and providing a close follow-up are used (Unutzer & Park, 2012). Patients who require adjustment of treatment plans, referrals to specialist, or adjunct therapy can be provided education and or resources needed that will maximize their rehabilitation potential. With a system in place to track progression and enforce follow up

     
     

    C2. Evaluation Method

    The effectiveness of the three strategies provided can be evaluated individually based on the following:

    A professional development workshops effectiveness can be evaluated by providing attendees with a pre-workshop questionnaire to assess their knowledge on symptoms and treatment of depression. A post-intervention workshop questionnaire will assess if the objectives of the workshop were met. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Mandatory screening for depression can be evaluated by having a checklist for health care providers to indicate that the patient has completed a screening annually. Another way providers can track mandatory screening of depression is by running reports thru EHR system that will alert which patients are missing the screen.

    To ensure effectiveness of tool to track progression and enforce follow up of disease, patient rating scales should be compared each visit to ensure the patient is responding appropriately to the treatments they are receiving. Auditing the charts of these patients to ensure that they are all receiving care and services that are required as well as reinforcing teaching and providing resources if applicable.

    Conclusion

    With over 300 million individually worldwide suffering from depression, it is important to diagnose, treat, and provide care for these individuals. Mental health disease, can often be overlooked and left untreated; however, research supports that severe cases of depression can lead to suicide. Therefore, it is important for healthcare organizations to understand the importance of providing evidence-based treatments and promoting best practices to ensure patients are receiving the necessary and appropriate care. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

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    medication guidelines for adults. University of South Florida. Retrieved from

    http://www.medicaidmentalhealth.org/_assets/file/Guidelines/Web_2015-

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    Akincigil, A., Olfson, M., Siegel, M., Zurlo, K.A., Wakup, J.T., & Crystal, S. (2012). Racial and

    ethnic disparities in depression care in community-dwelling elderly in the United States.

    American Journal of Public Health, 102(2), 319-328. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300349

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    Blobel, B. (2015). Psychologist in a PocketTowards Depression Screening on Mobile Phones . Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Wearable Micro and Nano Technologies for Personalized Health. 211, p. 155. Amsterdam: IOS Press.

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Depression. National Center for Health Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

    Statistics. Retrieved from
    https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/depression.htm

    Conner, E. (2016, Mar 3/11/2018). Racial/Ethnic and Income Disparities in Depression Treatment. New York, NY, USA.

    Gautam S, J. A. (2017, January). Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of Depression. Indian Journal of Psychiatry , 59(5), 34-50.

    Jun-Mian, X. (1987, June 1). Some Issues in the Diagnosis of Depression in China. Social and Community Psychiatry Section, 32(5), 368-370.

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    Kuhl, E.A. (2018). Quantifying the cost of depression. American Psychiatric Association: Center

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    disorder: pathways to disease evolution and resistance, and therapeutic implications.

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    doi:10.1001/jamaintermed.2016.5057

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     Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice – Depression Essay

  • Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    Heart Disease

    Heart disease affects the lives of millions of people every year so it is important to understand the characteristics and risk factors associated with this condition.  Risk factors for heart disease fall under two categories: modifiable risks and nonmodifiable risks.  Modifiable risks include things that we can control such as obesity, smoking and high fat intake whereas nonmodifiable risks include things that we cannot control such as gender, heredity and age.  But first, we must understand what heart disease is and how it affects our bodies.  Research suggests that heart disease is a result of damage to the lining and inner layers of the heart arteries.  Plaque begins to build up where there are damaged arteries (What Causes Heart Disease, 2014).  Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay. Factors that can contribute to this damage include smoking, blood vessel inflammation, elevated amounts of sugar in the blood due to insulin resistance or diabetes, high blood pressure and high amounts of fats and cholesterol in the blood.

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    A1. Pathophysiology

    Heart disease is a clinical manifestation when the heart can not provide a sufficient amount of blood flow to maintain the metabolic requirements for systemic venous return.  Heart failure is the result of several mechanisms such as pump function disorder, neurohormonal activation disorder and salt-water retention disorder (Palazzuoli, 2010).  It develops when there is an abnormality in cardiac function causing blood to not pump at a healthy rate.  Several factors can contribute to the damage including smoking, high blood pressure, inflammation of the blood vessels, and increased amounts of cholesterol in the blood. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay.

    The average human heart beats almost four million times per year, pumping enough blood to fill an oil tanker during a lifetime.  Composed of striated cardiac muscles, the heart is supplied oxygen and nutrients from the coronary arteries.  Over time, some people experience damage to the cardiac muscles which can lead to a weakening of the heart’s ability to pump blood.  If blood is inadequately being pumped, fluid can build up in the lungs, liver and other vital organs.

    There are several conditions that can lead to heart disease including anemia, diabetes, obesity, cardiomyopathy, obstructive sleep apnea and cardiac muscle disease.  Diseases related to the heart valves can also cause heart failure.  Damaged or leaking valves cause the heart to pump harder pump back-flowing blood. Some of the main pathologies of heart disease include over loading of the ventricle with blood during diastole, lowered cardiac output causing an increase in the heart rate, stroke volume decreasing as the ventricle rises at the end of systole, reduced cardiac reserve and hypertrophy (Mandal, 2009) Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay.

    A2. Standard of Practice for Heart Disease

    The national standard of practice is driven by the Clinical Practice Guidelines published by the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC).  The NGC provides a guideline of recommendations on current evidence based practice to help healthcare workers provide safe and efficient care to patients with heart disease.  These evidence based guidelines have the potential to maximize the outcome of a patient (Petruccelli, n.d.).  In 1933 Sir Thomas Lewis wrote in his textbook on heart disease that “The very essence of cardiovascular medicine is the recognition of early heart failure” (Lewis, 1937).

    According to the American College of Cardiology a thorough history and physical should be performed in patients that present with heart disease to identify any cardiac or non-cardiac disorders and/or behaviors that may cause the acceleration of the disease.  Volume status and vital signs as well as patient weight, jugular venous pressure and the presence of orthopnea or peripheral edema should be assessed as they may be signs/symptoms of fluid retention.  Risk scores are obtained upon assessment to estimate the risk of mortality in patients with heart disease Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay.

    For patients presenting with signs/symptoms of heart failure, initial laboratory evaluations include complete blood count, troponin, serum creatinine, urinalysis, serum electrolytes, bun, glucose, fasting lipid profile, liver function tests and thyroid-stimulating hormone.

    Because heart disease has a high mortality rate, results in decreased quality of life, increased hospitalizations and an extensive therapeutic routine, new research and evidence based data is constantly being done to improve outcomes of the proposed therapies.  Because this is a chronic condition, the effect of therapies may not be noticeable right away.  The prognosis varies from patient to patient when taking into account co-morbidities, life style and genetic factors.  As a result, not all treatments will work for all patients, making it difficult to generalize one specific treatment regimen as the “go-to” for heart disease. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay.  The assessment of specific outcomes of therapy are complicated by the potential differential impact of the many co-therapies (Albert, Boehmer, Ezekowitz, Givertz, Klapholz, Linderfeld,…Walsh, 2010).

    The complexity and high prevalence of heart disease in today’s society, has resulted in numerous treatment options and practice guidelines.  Different practice guidelines have been created by various organizations.  The American Heart Association [AHA] along with The American College of Cardiology Foundation [ACCF] have developed one set of practice guidelines and have been producing practice guidelines jointly in the area of cardiovascular disease since 1980.  These guidelines are not only comprehensive but they also address all aspects of prevention, evaluation, therapy (both pharmacological and device) as well as disease management for patient’s diagnosed with heart disease.  These guidelines play a major role in clinical management of the disease process. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay.

    A2a. Pharmacological Treatments

    Cardiac Glycosides

    Can be used for any severity of heart disease

    Slows the ventricular rate

    Aldosterone receptor antagonists

    Recommended for advanced heart disease

    Improves survival and morbidity

    Recommended in addition to Ace-inhibitors and beta-blockers

    Diuretics (loop diuretics, thiazides and metolazone)

     

    Decreases fluid overload

    Results in rapid improvement of dyspnea and increased exercise tolerance

    Should be taken with ACE-inhibitors and beta-blockers

    Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    Beta-adrenoceptor antagonists (Beta-blockers)

    Used as treatment for a severities of heart disease

    Reduces hospitalizations, improves function and can slow down progression of the disease

    Slow the heart rate, allowing the left ventricle to fill more completely

    Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-inhibitors)

    Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    1
    st
    Line of defense

    Helps improve control of heart disease

    Reduces need for hospitalization, improving patient quality of life

    Assists with electrolyte and water balance by increasing the release of water and salt to urine, lowering blood pressure

    Vasodilation improves hemodynamics in heart disease and reduces blood pressure

    Angiotensin II receptor blockers

    Assists blood vessels to relax and dilate

    Helps release water and salt to the urine, lowering blood pressure

    Decreases pressure on the left ventricle of the hear must pump against

    Anti-thrombotic agents

     

    Heart disease is often accompanied by a hypercoagulable state

    Reduces the incidence of coronary ischemic events

    Inhibits vasodilation

    **Drugs to use with caution for patients with heart failure:  lithium, tricyclic anti-depressants, corticosteroids, calcium antagonists, NSAIDs and Class I anti-arrhythmic agents

    (Cleland, 2005)

     

    The pharmacological treatment for heart disease will vary based on the severity of the disease, the patient’s co-morbidities and the patient’s classification.  The AHA and ACCF classify patients into four classes ranging from A to D, with the stages of heart disease distinguishing risk factors and abnormalities of the cardiac structure as being associated with heart disease.  The pharmacological interventions take into account both. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay.

    As mentioned previously, the practice guidelines for heart disease as set forth by the AHA and ACCF work hand in hand with the standardized pharmacological treatment throughout the United States.  Virginia, and more specifically my community, utilize these practice guidelines in the treatment of heart disease.  Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors should be used in the treatment of heart failure related to systolic dysfunction.  ACE inhibitors cause relaxation of the blood vessels and decrease blood volume.  This leads to lower blood pressure and decreased oxygen demand on the heart.  Some examples of ACE inhibitors include Lisinopril, Captopril, Trandolapril and Enalapril which have all been proven in clinical trials to be effective in reducing morbidity and overall mortality rates in patient with heart disease (Flather & Kober, 2000).  Unless otherwise contraindicated, ACE inhibitors should be considered a priority intervention.

    Also for patients with heart disease related to systolic dysfunction, beta blockers are recommended, unless a patient is dyspneic at rest with hemodynamic instability, signs or symptoms of congestion or those with a previous intolerance to beta blockers (Bleske, Chavey,…Van Harrison, 2008).  Beta blockers block the action of adrenaline and noradrenaline.  Coreg, Metoprolol, Propranolol and Atenolol have been proven in clinical trials to decrease overall mortality.  When a patient takes beta blockers, the heart beats more slowly and with less force.  This reduces blood pressure and helps blood vessels to expand, improving blood flow. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    Aldosterone antagonists are receptor antagonists located at the mineralocorticoid receptor.  They are recommended for patients with heart disease.  Aldosterone receptor antagonists block the effects of hormones produced naturally in the adrenal glands that can cause heart disease to worsen.  They affect the balance of water and salts going into the urine.  They also help lower blood pressure and protect the heart by reducing congestion.  Spironolactone is a nonselective aldosterone antagonist and eplerenone is selective to the aldosterone receptor.  These are the only two aldosterone antagonists commercially available in the United States.  Aldosterone antagonism is recommended for patients with heart disease who also have dyspnea rest as well as for patients post myocardial infarction who have developed systolic dysfunction.

    Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) block the actions of angiotensin II, which is produced in the kidneys.  It prevents angiotensin II from binding with angiotensin II receptors in the blood vessels, causing them to dilate and reduce blood pressure.  ARBs are often used to treat patients with heart disease that cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors, but they can also be added in addition to ACE inhibitors.  Losartan and Valsartan are commonly used ARBs, typically found in the hospital setting.

    Diuretics assist the body to get rid of excess fluid by encouraging the kidneys to make more urine.  They are commonly used for patients with heart disease to manage fluid volume overload, which can be acute or chronic.  Diuretics cause the kidneys to put more sodium in the urine.  As the sodium is excreted from the blood, it takes water with it to the kidneys.  They cause wasting of potassium and magnesium.  Getting rid of the excess fluid lessens the load on the heart because there is less fluid to pump around the body, easing congestion on the lungs.

    In my community, use of these drugs are standard practice.  There are best practice guidelines which outline the use of each drug, potential side effects and things that patients should look out for to tell their physician.  A nationally tracked indicator of heart disease management includes asking relevant questions to patients upon discharge related to their heart disease medications, specifically about the use of a beta blocker, ACE inhibitor or ARBs.  Pharmacists within the hospital setting are trained to reconcile medication upon admission and discharge to ensure patients are prescribed the correct medication to optimize their treatment regimen.  Patients are given access to My Chart, which allows them to access their medications post hospitalization at any time in case their community pharmacist has any questions.

    Providers within the community have access to electronic health records which allow them to see previously prescribed medications, discontinued medications and the physicians reasoning for adding/deleting a particular medication as well as any adverse reactions noted.

    Within the hospital, case managers work directly with patients to provide community resources so they are able to get their medications more easily and affordably once discharged.  Physicians will typically write a 30-day prescription for most medications to give a patient ample time to see their primary care physician or community resource. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    Extensive efforts to ensure patients have the education and resources needed to remain compliant once discharged to the community, have decreased overall re-hospitalization rates.  It is also important to focus on prevention and education.  My hospital hosts health fairs, blood pressure screenings and community education classes to make people aware of the modifiable risk factors associated with heart disease to try to decrease the risk of heart disease before it gets to the point of having someone hospitalized for heart disease.

    A2b. Clinical Guidelines

    Quality measures include:

    Patients must be given ACE inhibitor angiotensin II receptor blocker. If not, there must be clear documentation of intolerance to both.

    Patients must be given adult smoking cessation advice or counseling

    Patients given discharge instructions must include:

    Activity

    Weight Monitoring

    Diet

    List of discharge medications and dosages

    Follow up care

    What to do if symptoms worsen

     

    Diagnosis

    A diagnosis of heart disease takes into account the whole picture of physical findings, symptoms and tests.  Based on these results, the physician will order a chest x-ray, echocardiogram and electrocardiography to analyze heart shape/size and function as well as evaluating the lungs for fluid build-up.  Certain specifics a physician will test for: Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

    Blood Tests- kidney and thyroid function, cholesterol levels and the presence of anemia

    BNP-level of BNP increases as heart disease worsens

    Chest x-ray-shows size of the heart and whether there is fluid build-up

    Echocardiogram-provides pictures of the heart’s valves and chambers so the physician can study the action of the heart

    Doppler Ultrasound-evaluates blood flow across the heart valves

    Ejection Fracture-<55% Stress test- the heart is stressed by walking on a treadmill. This will help identify clogged arteries   Patient Education Understanding Heart Disease Causes of Heart Disease Common Questions Nutritional Planning Adapting Your Lifestyle Plan periods of rest Be sure to get plenty of rest, ensuring that you keep your feet up to minimize swelling in the legs Conserve your energy Cutting down on some of your daily activities or using less energy during tasks will help you have more energy to do more tasks throughout your day Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay Manage a healthy weight Monitor fluctuations in your weight…fast weight gain can mean fluid retention Reading food labels Avoid to much fluid intake Limiting sodium intake Increasing intake of high potassium foods Dried fruits Fresh vegetables Fresh fruits Fish Fresh meat Stop smoking Smoking causes your heart to work harder to supply the body with enough oxygen Be aware of triggers to smoking Being around smokers Alcohol Emotional stress Maintain up-to-date immunizations Respiratory problems can worsen heart disease, vaccinations can provide immunity against flu and pneumonia Monitor your blood pressure and heart rate Gives you confidence in the treatment you are doing Helps give information to the physician about trends Manage your medicines Take your medication as prescribed to get the best possible outcome Take your medications with you when you go to the doctor A2c. Standard Practice of Disease Management Initiatives in Virginia to prevent and combat heart disease include promoting the use of guidelines for primary and secondary prevention as well as increasing quality care in federally funded healthcare centers.  On the national level, in 1999 the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, a patient centered organization, was founded creating a wide support network, educational seminars and advocating for legislation.  In 2002, The Heart Truth campaign was created to raise awareness about heart disease, risk factors and preventative action. The standard of practice of care for the management of heart disease is consistent in Virginia as it is across the nation.  Patients with heart disease may experience signs and symptoms of a heart attack such as angina, vomiting, and extreme fatigue, difficulties breathing and swelling in the feet, ankles, legs and abdomen.  Treatment is based on exhibited symptoms and can be pharmacological and nonpharmacological including lifestyle modifications. No single test can diagnose heart disease.  If heart disease is suspected, the national standard is for a physician to order an electrocardiogram to detect and record the hearts electrical activity.  The test will show how fast the heart is beating and if the beat is regular or irregular.  Another standard of care is performing a stress test to make the heart work harder and beat faster through exercise while testing is completed on the heart.  A stress test can show possible signs and symptoms of heart disease such as abnormal changes in the heart rate, blood pressure, shortness of breath and abnormalities in the hearts rhythm. A chest x-ray is typically ordered to give the physician a picture of the organs and structures within the chest and can reveal signs of heart disease.  Blood tests check the levels of cholesterol, sugars, fats and proteins in the blood.  Abnormal levels can indicate heart disease. If other tests suggest heart failure, the physician would order a coronary angiography using a special dye and x-ray to look inside of the arteries (What Causes Heart Disease, 2014). The State of Virginia can help educate the public about the importance of disease prevention through regular check ups.  They can also assist by providing healthcare workers updates on guidelines and best practices for treating patients at risk and affected by heart disease.  Virginia has also established policies for raising awareness for recognizes the signs and symptoms of heart disease and heart attack and helping hospitals implement system changes to adhere to national guidelines and recommendations for victims of heart disease (Moon, 2008). A3. Characteristics of Heart Disease Heart disease affects approximately 5.1 million people (Heart, 2015).   Common symptoms of heart disease include shortness of breath, weight gain, swelling in the feet, ankles, stomach or legs, fatigue and weakness.  Early diagnosis and treatment can greatly increase the quality and length of life for people affected by heart disease.  Treatment typically includes medications, diet modifications, increased physical activity and smoking cessation. There are four stages of heart disease to describe the evolution of the disease. Stage A refers to people who are at high risk for developing heart failure based on one or more risk factors Stage B refers to patients that show no symptoms of heart failure Stage C refers to patients who have in the past, or currently, show symptoms of heart failure with underlying structural heart disease Stage D refers to patients with end-stage heart disease requiring specialized treatments (Diseases, 1964) When thinking about the characteristics of heart disease, genetics should always be a factor.  Individuals that have a parent that suffered a heart attack are at an increased risk for heart disease.  Although we cannot control our gender, heredity or age, there are several risk factors that can be reduced and/or eliminated to lessen the risk of heart disease. Modifiable risk factors include smoking cessation, maintaining a healthy diet and proper weight control.  As little as 20% of a person’s body weight increases the cholesterol levels in the body (Mandal, 2009). Access to Care-Approximately 7.3 million Americans with heart disease are currently uninsured (Federal Access to Care Issues, 2013).  This makes them less likely to receive appropriate care which results in worsening medical outcomes, including increased mortality rates.  Current advocacy priorities initiated federally include implementing health reform, opposing policies that cut benefits or increase costs under Medicare and Medicaid, supporting funding for community access, expanding access to AEDs and CPR training for high school students, lay rescuers and professional responders, increased public knowledge of lifesaving approaches and increased funding for the National Emergency Medical Services Information System and other EMS programs (Ayanian, 2001). Treatment Options- The goal of treatment is typically the same for men and women with a goal of relieving symptoms, reducing risk factors to slow or stop the buildup of plaque, lowering the potential for blood clot formation, widening plaque clogged arteries and preventing complications related to heart disease.  Treatments include: Lifestyle Changes such as smoking cessation, diet modification, increased physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing stress and depression.  Medications can help reduce the hearts workload and relieve symptoms, lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure and prevent blood clots and prevent the possibility of a heart or sudden death.  A patient may need surgery to treat heart disease such as angioplasty, CABG, percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass grafting.  Cardiac rehab is also part of the national standard of care.  It includes exercise training to teach safe exercising, muscle strengthening and improve stamina as well as education, counseling and training to help the patient understand their condition and identify ways to lower risk for future medical issues related to the heart. Life Expectancy and Outcomes-Since 2004, the death rate related to heart disease has fallen.  In 2013 there were 211 deaths per 100,000 people in Virginia and 223 in the nation.  This gave Virginia the 25 th lowest rate in the country (Measuring Cardiovascular Disease, 2015).  Across the state (Virginia) deaths related to heart disease have continued to fall.  According to US government statistics, there are almost 300,000 deaths each year (Moon, 2008).  Of the total heart disease related deaths each year, 8.6 million are women and is the largest single cause of deaths in women worldwide (Fact Sheets, n.d.).  Heart disease is listed as the underlying cause of death for 31% of all deaths in the United States-that’s almost 2200 deaths per day. A3a. Disparities Health disparities continue to exist for low income populations and minorities.  There is evidence that these groups have earlier onset of heart disease and earlier death associated with the advanced disease related to biological, psychosocial, environmental and behavioral issues.  Programs have been implemented by public health groups nationwide to modify known risk factors, focusing on tobacco cessation, increased physical activity, healthier diets and preventative screening.  There has been minimal progress noted in the heart disease health disparities among low income and minority populations.  People living in low income communities have less access to affordable and nutritious food, parks for physical activity and limited access to health screenings.  Fresh and organic produce tend to more expensive than canned or frozen food.  Disparities are seen with patients that carry Medicare as well as non-Medicare patients. Disparities are also noted on an international level based on a patients’ insurance or noninsured status.  Patients that do not carry insurance and are unable to pay privately, are typically discharged home with minimal prescriptions and no access to home health leaving family members to take care of them. According to the World Health Organization, about 16 million people across the world die of heart disease each year (The World Health Report, 2003).  Due to a lack of resources and education, developing countries are twice as likely to see patient deaths related to heart disease.  Heart disease has no socioeconomic, gender or geographic boundaries. According to The World Health Report, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the European Union, accounts for over 245, 000 deaths in the UK and an estimated 8 million people in Canada have some form of heart disease.  In these countries, the prevalence of hypertension is very high with citizens not being treated.  In low-income countries, there is usually one person that is the primary money maker for the family.  Due to limited financial resources, many are not able to seek the treatment that they need or take the time away from work to seek treatment.  Low-income communities have unequal distribution of goods and little to no access to healthcare services, healthy foods or safe, green outdoor areas for activity.  There is easy access to alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy foods such as fast food. Among African Americans 10.3% suffer from heart disease, 4.9% of Hispanics suffer from heart disease, 3.3% of Asians suffer from heart disease and 5.6% of Caucasians suffer from heart disease (Thom, 2006).  It is estimated that by 2030, over 44% of the United States population will have some form of heart disease.  The American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goals include improving the cardiovascular health of Americans by as much as 20% while reducing the mortality rate related to heart disease by 20%. Analysis of data sets reported by the Center for Disease Control showed that adults older than 18 years old, disparities were noted for all risk factors examined.  Mexican American men had the highest prevalence of obesity while African American women without a high school education had a high prevalence of obesity.  Regardless of age or sex, African Americans had the highest prevalence of hypertension while Caucasian and Mexican American men had the highest prevalence of hypercholesterolemia along with Caucasian women (Thom, 2006).  Smokers with family incomes lower than the poverty level is twice as likely than adults in the highest family income group. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay A4a. Factors Contributing to Managing Heart Disease Medication compliance is a huge factor in management of heart disease.  Cost is one of the most common reasons people have for not taking their medications.  For patients having financial issues, the physician may be able to prescribe another medication that is more cost effective.  There are also public and private programs that offer discounted or free medications such as manufacturers’ aid or patient assistance programs.  Income and age will often determine eligibility.  It is estimated that three out of four Americans so not take their medications as directed (Medication Adherence, n.d.).  Poor medication adherence takes the lives of 125,000 Americans annually. Some medication assistance programs that can assist a patient better manage heart disease are: RX Outreach- a charitable nonprofit patient assistance program that provides access to affordable generic and brand name medications FamilyWiz Community Service Partnership-distributes free prescription savings cards and a price look up tool NeedyMeds-a national non-profit resource that helps people locate assistance programs to help them afford medications and healthcare costs Due to the high cost of medications, some patients do not purchase them.  A patient with heart disease can experience many complications if they do not follow their medication regimen as prescribed.  Research has proven that a variety of medications are needed for the best outcomes in the treatment of heart disease.  Each medication treats a different symptom or contributing factor to promote the overall treatment.  Each individual medication cannot do their job correctly if not taken correctly.  In a nutshell, proper use of prescribed medications for the treatment of heart disease has been proven to save lives, prolong life and improve overall heart function. Medication noncompliance can lead to an unmanaged disease process as evidence by the mechanism of action of the medications.  For example, diuretics are prescribed to heart disease patients to help the body to rid itself of excess fluids and sodium via urination.  If a patient is not taking their medications as prescribed, there can be an increased workload of the heart as well as increased buildup of fluid in the lungs, ankles and legs making the condition much worse. Lack of insurance coverage can also affect a patient’s ability to manage their heart disease.  Plans such as Medicare Part B covers for preventative screening every 5 years.  There are no costs for the tests and everyone who has Medicare Part B is covered.  Medicare also covers one visit per year as a preventative service.  For patients that are experiencing heart failure, Medicare offers comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation that includes exercise, education and counseling (Your Medicare Coverage, n.d.).  This program is provided in a hospital outpatient setting or in a doctor’s office. A patient that has private insurance typically will have a rehabilitation plan included as part of their coverage.  For instance, with Anthem, a patient can receive up to sixty visits in a calendar year for rehabilitation services without a prior authorization being needed.  The severity of the illness must meet a predetermined standard for a patient to be approved for inpatient rehab which provides for four to six hours daily of therapy as compared to a skilled facility placement that only would provide one to two hours daily.  The decision of coverage is ultimately determined by the medical director working within the insurance company who receives the case information, reviews it based on the documentation provided and approves coverage limits, amount of days and times based on this information.  Unfortunately, this is not often in line with the physician discharge instructions or the patient/family request.  Often times, these predetermined limits will not provide enough coverage for the patient to get back to a normal state. Some patients do not have traditional insurance or Medicaid.  These patients are also often limited in access to care because they have options in care that are either high in cost or limited.  For example, with hospital based programs, a patient can only see certain physicians and are bundled into managed products.  With managed products, a patient is assigned to a specific physician or medical group and is unable to see an outside physician without a referral.  Appointments are limited and often times done during clinic times so seeing the same physician consistently is rare.  These limited appointments often result in patients having to seek care in the Emergency Room which does not provide ongoing care.  This can result in a breakdown in communication between physicians and a lack of consistency of treatment plans. Without the needed ongoing care, patients can fall between the cracks, with constantly changing treatment and medication regimens and inconsistency of the plan of care.  The frustration of long waits during clinics, different physicians every visit and having to wait get on a waiting list to even get into a clinic can lead to an unmanaged disease process due to a lack of frequent, consistent visits and updated plans of care and treatment regimens based on changes in the disease process. Not having access to proper nutrition can affect a patient’s ability to manage heart failure.  One of the standard modifications recommended is diet modification.  The role of a proper diet is key to lowering cardiovascular risk.  Patients that do not have access to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, low sodium items, fish, nuts and soy have a higher risk of death related to heart disease.  Food assistance programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), Nutritional Programs for Seniors and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) provide assistance for those in need so they can purchase healthier foods. Proper nutrition is very important when trying to manage heart disease.  Continuing to eat an unhealthy diet can lead to co morbidities that can increase that rate of mortality related to an unmanaged disease process.  For example, high blood pressure is a major risk factor with heart disease so a diet high in sodium will increase a patients’ risk for hypertension.  A high fat intake will increase the likelihood of becoming obese (which puts addition strain on the heart) and developing high cholesterol.  Sugary foods can increase the chance of a patient becoming a diabetic.  Abnormal blood lipids are related to what we eat and have a strong correlation to heart disease, heart attack and ultimately coronary death. 4Ai. Characteristics of a Patient with Unmanaged Heart Disease Patients with uncontrolled heart disease may experience several symptoms such as shortness of breath, rapid heart beat, lethargy, light headedness, swelling in the extremities and chest pain.  They may even experience pain in the jaw, neck or back.  Sometimes a patient with uncontrolled heart disease may experience nausea and vomiting as well as unexplained fatigue. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay For patients with unmanaged heart disease the prognosis depends on the cause and severity of the disease. Complications can include: Kidney Failure Heart disease can reduce the blood flow to the kidneys and cause a patient to need dialysis Heart valve Problems Valves may not function correctly if the pressure in the heart is high due to heart disease Heart Rhythm Complications Arrhythmias can be a complication of heart disease Liver Damage Heart disease can lead to fluid buildup that puts excessive pressure on the liver   How Does Heart Disease Affect Patients, Families and Communities? Heart Disease can be a devastating illness that affects not only patients but their families and community as well. For the patient it can affect their ability to live independently and care for themselves. The patient may not be able to continue working as the physical and emotional stress takes its toll.  This can result in a loss of income, further increasing a patient’s stress level and depression especially if they are not able to care for themselves or their family.  There is also the added anxiety over familial and caretaking concerns such as, “Who will take care of my house and my spouse” and “How will he/she manage without me?” Family members may have to face the possibility of caring for a sick loved one. This can put an emotional and financial strain on the dynamics of the household.  The family will also have to be prepared to deal with the possibility of the sick family member to experience depression and other changes in their emotional state.  Their tolerance for noise and disturbances may be decreased and this may be hard for young children to understand.  They may feel that they have lost a parent or that their parent is behaving differently around them but not understand why. For the community, a patient who has decreased or lost their income, may rely on community and government assistance for medications and healthcare related costs. These costs may be absorbed by the local hospitals or state funded programs such as Medicare. If a patient is not able to provide for their family, they may need to turn to other government based assistance programs such as food assistance programs and housing assistance programs. B1. Financial Costs Patient – In 2010, the cost of heart disease in the United States alone exceeded $444 billion (Feature, n.d.).  Pulling from this total 64% were direct costs, 45% were hospital costs, drugs were 19.5% and physician visits were 14.8%.  The cost of treating heart disease exceeds diabetes treatment. DIRECT MEDICAL COSTS INDIRECT MEDICAL COSTS LONG TERM MAINTENANCE Ambulance Lost Productivity and Income Drugs Diagnostic Testing Continued Testing Hospital Charges Cardiologist Appointments Surgery (if needed) Appointments for Co-Morbidities or Illnesses as a Result of Heart Disease For the patient, heart disease results in many increased costs outside of medications and hospital visits.  For instance, fresh, healthy or organic foods cost more than fast food, frozen or canned foods.  That is why it is hard for many people to adopt a healthier nutritional lifestyle.  A meta-analysis of pricing of healthy versus unhealthy diet patterns found that the healthiest diet patterns cost, on average, ≈$1.50 more per person per day (Thom, 2006).  As a result of the illness and its effects on the body, a patient may have to miss work or work less frequently causing their income to decrease. A patient can help offset some of the costs by researching cheaper medications or generic substitutions, ensure they have adequate health insurance and consider disability insurance to replace some of the lost income. Family – For families of heart disease patients, the financial toll can also be high.  Family members may have to become the sole person responsible for finances within the household.  Family members may also experience some form of loss in income if they are forced to miss work to take their loved ones to physician appointments, hospital visits and for treatments.  For families with children, there is also the additional expense of childcare while the healthy parent is taking the ill parent to appointments. Populations – In the United States, heart disease more Medicare allocation dollars than any other illness.  In 2009 over seven million Medicare beneficiaries experienced over 12.4 million inpatient hospital visits (Treating Congestive Heart Failure, 2014). Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay Promoting Best Practices & Evaluation Method The first strategy I would implement to promote best practices would be to implement for a nutritionist to meet regularly with all patients admitted with new or current heart disease.  Part of minimizing recurrent visits to the hospital and implementing a healthier lifestyle is education about proper nutrition.  It is important that patients are given the knowledge about implementing heart healthy eating patterns, proper intake of fruits, vegetables, gains, fish, legumes and sources of proteins low in saturated fat.  The nutritionist would also be responsible for educating the patient of weight management and reduction (if needed) through a balance of physical therapy, monitoring caloric intake and programs to maintain/achieve a healthy BMI. Evaluation-The nutritionist would also be responsible for a one month, three months and six months follow up where the patient can have their BMI checked, weight checked, basic labs taken etc. to gauge their progress and give the patient an opportunity to ask questions and get guidance on any concerns they may have regarding their diet and weight management. The second strategy I would implement for best practice would be psychological assessment and support for patients suffering from heart disease and undergoing cardiac treatment.  Stress, anxiety and other psychological factors can greatly affect a patients’ wellness and cardiac rehabilitation.  I would ensure that a psychologist or psychiatrist met with the patient throughout their hospital stay.  They would not only complete assessments to ensure the patient is psychologically handling their diagnosis but also be available for a patient to discuss any concerns, negative emotions, concerns about post discharge factors such as work and family life as well as discuss any depression they may be experiencing.  The psychologist/psychiatrist would also provide education about stress management, recognizing signs and symptoms of depression as well as helping the patient find mental support resources within the community post discharge. Evaluation-The psychologist/psychiatrist will continue to monitor the patients’ mental health throughout their visit, identifying any variances from upon admission.  They will also meet with the patient upon discharge to complete another assessment to ensure the patient is mentally stable to be discharged.  They will also monitor the patient based on their initial baseline for any negative effects related to new or modified medications The third strategy I would implement is a post heart disease diagnosis care team.  Once a patient is discharged from the hospital, they would be seen by the care team the following day.  The care team would include the physician, nutritionist, social worker, physical therapist, psychologist/psychiatrist and cardiac nurse educator.  The team would follow the patient for one-year post admission to provide support for the patient.  Their initial evaluations would be completed while the patient is in-patient.  Upon discharge, the care team would also provide educational opportunities and support groups for patients to participate in.  The team will also assist the patient with smoking cessation programs and medication management.  Following the patient will allow the care team to monitor and changes in condition while helping the patient get oriented to their new diagnosis and symptom management. Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay Evaluation-The care team will review and track their patients for compliance with medications, dietary modifications, smoking cessation and overall quality of life.  As symptoms arise, the team will also help the patient with symptom management and teach them the skills needed to live with heart disease on their own.  Evaluation of outcomes would be analyzed overtime to identify areas of opportunity and the potential for team expansion.   References Albert, N., Boehmer, J., Ezekowitz, J., Givertz, M., Klapholz, M., Lindenfeld, J.,…Walsh, M. (2010). Executive Summary: HFSA 2010 Comprehensive Heart Failure Practice Guideline. Journal of Cardiac Failure (16) 475-539. Retrieved from http://www.heartfailureguideline.org/_assets/document/Guidelines.pdf.   Ayanian, J. Z., & Qiunn, T. J. (2001, May). Health Affairs. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/20/3/55.full   Bleske, B., Chavey, W., Hogikyan, R., Kesteron, S., Nicklas, J., Van Harrison, R. (2008). Pharmacological Management of Heart Failure Caused by Diastolic Dysfunction. American Family Physician. (7)957-964. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/afp/2008/0401/p957/html.   Burke, N., Desmeules, M., Georee, R., Lim, M., Luo, W., O’Reilley, D., …Tarride, J. (2009). A review of the cost of cardiovascular disease. Canadian Journal of Cardiology , 25 (6). doi:10.1016/s0828-282x(09)70098-4 Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay     Cleland, J., Dargie, H., Drexler, H., Follath, F., Komadja, M., Swedberg, K., (2005, May 18). Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure: Executive summary. Retrieved March 27, 2016, from http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/11/1115.full   Diseases of the heart and blood vessels: Nomenclature and criteria for diagnosis (6th ed.). (1964). Boston: Little, Brown. Retrieved March 25, 2016.   Doering, L. V., McKinley, S., Riegel, B., Moser, D. K., Meischke, H., Pelter, M. M., & Dracup, K. (2011). Gender-Specific Characteristics of Individuals with Depressive Symptoms and Coronary Heart Disease. Heart & Lung: The Journal of Critical Care, 40 (3), e4–e14. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2010.04.002   Fact Sheets. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://www.world-heart-federation.org/heart-facts/fact-sheets/   Feature, R. M. (n.d.). Heart Disease: The Cost of Medical Bills and Disability. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/heart-disease-medical-costs Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay   Federal Access to Care Issues. (2013, July 8). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Advocate/IssuesandCampaigns/AccesstoCare/Access-to-Care-Policy-Issues_UCM_443156_Article.jsp#.Vwx7mP72bow   Heart Failure Fact Sheet. (2015, November 30). Retrieved March 24, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_heart_failure.html   Lewis, T. (1937). Diseases of the heart, described for practitioners and students. London: Macmillan and, Limited.   Mandal, MD, A. (2009, April 5). Heart Failure Causes. Retrieved March 24, 2016 from http://www.news-medical.net/health/Heart-Failure-Causes.aspx   Measuring Cardiovascular Disease in Virginia – Virginia Performs. (2015, March 16). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://vaperforms.virginia.gov/indicators/healthFamily/cardiovascularDisease.php   Medication Adherence – Taking Your Meds as Directed. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/ConsumerHealthCare/Medication-Adherence—Taking-Your-Meds-as-Directed_UCM_453329_Article.jsp#.VwYmXP72ZoA   Moon, M.A. (2008). Heart Failure Patients Greatly Overestimate Life Expectancy. Family Practice News, 38 (13). Doi:10.1016/s0300-7073(08)70804-1   Palazuoli, A., & Nuti, R. (2010, April 20). Heart Failure: Pathophysiology and clinical picture. Retrieved March 27, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20427988   Petruccelli, D. F. (n.d.). JCAHO Core Measures. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/aahfn.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Docs/nursingpractice/JCAHO_Core_Measures.pdf.   Thom, T. (2006). Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics–2006 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation, 113 (6). doi:10.1161/circulationaha.105.171600   Treating Congestive Heart Failure and the Role of Payment Reform. (2014). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2014/05/21-congestive-heart-failure-hospital-aco-case-study#recent_rr/   Yancy, C. W., Jessup, M., Bozkurt, B., Butler, J., Casey, D. E., Drazner, M. H., . . . Wilkoff, B. L. (2013). 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. JACC-Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 128(16). doi:10.1161/cir.0b013e31829e8776   Yoon, J., Fonarow, G. C., Groeneveld, P. W., Teerlink, J. R., Whooley, M. A., Sahay, A., & Heidenreich, P. A. (2016). Patient and Facility Variation in Costs of VA Heart Failure Patients. JACC: Heart Failure.   What Causes Heart Disease? (2014, April 21). Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hdw/causes   What Is Being Done at The National Level to Prevent Heart Disease In Women? (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from http://www.athensheartcenter.com/what-is-being-done-at-the-national-level   Your Medicare Coverage. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/cardiac-rehab-programs.html Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice: Heart Disease Essay

  • Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

    Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

    Pathopharmacological Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice

    Investigated Disease Process

    Obesity is defined as having a body mass index or BMI of greater than 30.  Obesity is not considered a disease but is a risk factor for other diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.  One third of American adults are obese with another one third considered overweight (BMI greater than 25 but less than 30).  Parents who are obese often have children who are obese due to genetics and environmental effects:  parents and children usually eat the same foods and have the same exercise habits (McCance & Huether, 2014).

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    Obesity is an epidemic with no simple solution Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay.  It is a complex problem that is going to take individuals, healthcare professionals, state and local organizations, policy makers, and community leaders working together to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle and environment.  Resources are available through state and local programs for health recommendations.  Community support for healthy eating and active living in different settings can help reverse obesity.  A lifestyle change is the way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight (“Strategies to Prevent Obesity,” 2015).

    A1.  Pathophysiology

               
    Obesity is defined as a BMI greater than 30 and is also considered a metabolic disorder.  When an individual with susceptible genes to obesity takes in more calories than they burn off then obesity can develop (McCance & Huether, 2014) Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay.

    There are interactions of many cytokines, hormones, and neurotransmitters which makes the pathophysiology of obesity very complex.  Adipocytes are the cellular basis of obesity and secrete numerous hormones and cytokines called adipokines.  Adipokines help regulate food consumption, the storage and metabolism of lipids, insulin sensitivity, and many others.  Accumulation of visceral fat causes the adipocytes to not function properly and results in changes in the regulation and interaction of the hormones.  These changes in the adipokines and other hormones and neurotransmitters take part in the causes and complications of obesity (McCance & Huether, 2014).

    A2.  Standard of Practice

               
    Recommended standards for a primary care giver is to calculate a patient’s BMI, using height and weight, on annual visits or more frequently if needed.   This is the first step in identifying those who would need to be counseled on weight lose if the BMI is >25 (overweight) or >30 (obese).  A waist circumference should also be used as a possible indicator for higher risk of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  Waist circumference limit is 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women.  Lifestyle change is the most important start for weight loss.  Guidelines for weight loss are based on the patient assessment and include:  a) diet, b) physical activity, c) behavioral counseling, d) pharmacological treatments, and e) bariatric surgery.  Patient options and any health issues are included in these guidelines (“New Obesity Guidelines:  Authoritative ‘Roadmap’ to Treatment,” 2013). Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay.

    A2a.  Pharmacological Treatments

               
    Treatments for obesity are based on developing a weight loss plan to improve the patients’ health and well-being.  After consulting some primary care physician offices, results show that evidence-based pharmacological therapies in my state were comparable to the recommended standard guidelines for weight loss.  Developing a diet plan by reducing calorie intake, increasing physical activity, and adding behavioral counseling are important for a successful weight loss plan.  Individuals with a BMI greater than 30 or greater than 27 with other comorbidities that do not have success in losing weight with diet and exercise may need to add medications to help with the weight loss plan.  The approved medications for long-term treatment for weight loss include, orlistat, lorcaserin, phentermine/topiramate, and naltrexone/bupropion. Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay. Physicians should consider bariatric surgery in patients with a BMI greater than 40 (“Update on Office-Based Strategies for the Management of Obesity – American Family Physician,” 2016).

    Alabama is the 3
    rd
    ranked state with an obesity rate of 35.7% in 2016 (“State of Obesity:  Obesity data trends and policy analysis,” 2017).  Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer are the leading causes of death in the United States and obesity is a contributing cause to these diseases.  In Alabama obesity has slowly increased in the past 20 years.  Approximately 45% of Alabama adults do not eat fruit at least once a day.  Almost 26% of Alabama adults eat less than one vegetable a day.  And at least 85% of Alabama adults do not meet the recommendation for physical activity guidelines, 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity weekly and muscle strengthening exercises at least two days a week (“State of Alabama Community Health Assessment,” 2015).

    A2b.  Clinical Guidelines

               
    Clinical guidelines for obesity is the assessment and management of the disease.  Patients understanding of the disease and the risk factors involved with obesity are essential for treatments to be successful.  Management of obesity is a lifestyle change that requires specific knowledge and education from the patient and provider. Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay.

    The recommended guidelines for the assessment, diagnosis, and patient education of obesity are summarized below.

    Assessment

               
    A complete medical history should be completed on an initial visit and including a BMI and waist circumference.  Eating and physical habits, family history and any other risk factors or conditions are included in the history to determine the cause of obesity (“Diagnosis – NHLBI, NIH,” n,d.).

    A physical exam measuring height and weight to determine the BMI.  The waist circumference is measured to assess the amount of abdominal fat on a patient.  Medical conditions like hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome can cause obesity, so laboratory tests to check for these conditions are also part of the examination (“Diagnosis – NILBI, NIH,” n.d.).

    Diagnosis

               
    All adults should be screened for obesity.  BMI and waist circumference should be assessed and recorded at each visit with the health care provider.  Even though the BMI does not measure body fat directly or distinguish muscle from fat, it is the recommended way to diagnose patients who are obese.  The classification ranges for BMI are as follows:  underweight –<1.5, normal – 18.5 to 24.9, overweight –  25.0 to 29.9, obese (stage I) –  30.0 to 34.9, obese (stage II) –  35.0 to 39.9, extreme obesity (stage III) –  40.0 and greater.  Waist circumference greater than 40 in men and greater than 35 in women is defined as abdominal obesity (“Diagnosis and Management of Obesity,” n.d.). Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay. Patient Education             Educating the patient on weight loss and the necessity for lifestyle changes increases the chance for a healthier life.  Whether the weight loss is significant or a simple 5-10% of the total body weight, can have health benefits for the patient.  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) helped develop an approach to educate and help patients who are ready for preventive obesity counseling called the 5 A’s approach.  1) A ssess the stage of obesity and any comorbidities, eating habits, physical activity, medications that affect weight, and readiness for behavioral change.  2) A dvise the patient of the obesity diagnosis, the many different types of diets for weight loss, the need to decrease calories, the pros and cons of over-the-counter weight loss aids, medications, and surgery, and how important it is for the patient to self-monitor.  3) A gree that if the patient is not ready then discuss again at another visit, when the patient is ready a treatment plan will be developed, set a 10% weight-loss goal with diet/exercise/medication, review all surgery options with the patient if he/she is a candidate for weight-loss surgery. Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay. 4) A ssist the patient with a diet plan, physical activity guide, and behavioral modification guide, provide the patient with any web resources that are based on the patient needs, help patient determine what method of self-monitoring to use for daily intake of food and physical activity (e.g., mobile app or diary), review food and activity log on follow-up visits and reassess if goal is not met.  5) A rrange follow-up visits, referrals to dietitian/behavioral counselor/weight-management classes, surgeon referral, maintenance counseling to help prevent patient from regaining weight after weight loss (“Diagnosis and Management of Obesity,” n.d.). A2c.  Comparing Standard Practice of Disease Management             Standard practices for obesity management and weight loss treatment are used in primary care clinics in my community.  After questioning several providers in the community, the management of obesity was consistent with the standard guidelines.  A complete medical history and physical assessment is completed on patients.  Obesity is diagnosed according to the BMI and a waist circumference if indicated.  A weight management plan is then developed based on each patient’s specific needs.  Diet, exercise, counseling, pharmacological treatments, and surgery options are all included in this plan. A3.  Managed Disease Process             Characteristics of a patient who has reached their healthy weight loss goal and maintained it include:  a) BMI within normal range, b) at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity, c) healthy diet, d) continued behavioral counseling, e) reduction in risk factors for comorbidities (“Update on Office – Based Strategies for the Management of Obesity – American Family Physician,” 2016). A patient who has managed their weight loss would show the appropriate skills for the continued maintenance of the weight management plan.  They would have access and transportation to get to the health providers and activity centers.  The patient would also have the knowledge to choose the appropriate foods for a healthier diet, and the financial resources for pharmacological treatments or bariatric surgery if needed. Studies show that extremely obese (BMI >40) patients have a significant reduction in life expectancy.  Deaths were mostly due to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  Life expectance decreased to approximately 6.5 years for a patient with a BMI of 40-44.9 and 13.7 years for a BMI of 55 and greater (“NIH study finds extreme obesity may shorten life expectancy up to 14 years,” n.d.).  The outcome from a patient with managed weight loss would have increased life expectancy. Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay.

    A3a.  Care Management Disparities

               
    Obesity is a major health issue in the United States and globally.  At least 40 percent of the population between the ages of 45 and 59 in North America, Central America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, are overweight or obese (“Obesity Epidemic:  Challenges, Health Initiatives, and Implications for Gastroenterologists,” n.d.).  Differences in populations contribute to the disparities in management of obesity across the nation.  Race, culture, sex, economic status, and place of residence, all account for the differences.

               
    Obesity exists in all ethnic and racial groups, all ages, gender, socioeconomic status, and geographical location.  African Americans and Latino populations have higher obesity rates than White populations.  Obesity is a worldwide epidemic (“Special Report:  Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity,” n.d.).  Disparities in health care, limited access to health care, and the quality of the care received can have a crucial impact on the management of obesity.

    Racial/ethnic populations have different behaviors that factor in to weight gain.  Compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks are less likely to participate in physical activity outside of their occupation.  There is also cultural differences and attitudes concerning body weight, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women are more content with their body size than non-Hispanic white women (“Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults—United States, 2006-2008,” n.d.).

    There are approximately 47.8 percent African Americans that are obese compared to the 32.6 percent of White adults.  Low income or lack of income, accessibility to quality education, access to healthier food, and lack of safer places to participate in physical activities, all contribute to the increased obesity rates in African American communities (“Special Report:  Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity,” n.d.).

    There are 42 percent of Latino adults that are obese compared to the 32.6 percent of White adults.  Inequity to healthcare, quality of care, little opportunity to make healthier choices, and limited access to a safe environment for physical activity contribute to the higher obesity rates in Latino communities (“Special Report:  Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity,” n.d.).

    Nationally African Americans were at a higher risk for obesity and in the United States Latinos are the fastest growing population with the higher rates of obesity.  It is essential for state and national practices to focus on these disparities in health care to improve the health and well-being of individuals (“Special Report:  Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity,” n.d.).

    A4.  Managed Disease Factors

               
    There are several factors that can impact a patient’s ability to manage their obesity and reach their weight loss goal.  These factors include access to care, financial resources, and health insurance.  The following factors assist in the patient’s ability to manage their weight loss and maintain a healthy lifestyle:

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    Access to Care – Patients will need to have access to the physician services for obesity management care.  Periodic health assessments by a weight loss health care professional for proper management of the disease is required.  Also access to fitness centers and health food stores to aid in the continuation of a healthier lifestyle.  Accessibility to the services provided, along with commitment to the recommendations will result in weight loss and the ability to maintain it.

     

    Financial Resources – Patients who have the financial resources to pay for the physician’s care management, healthier foods, gym memberships, counseling, and any prescription medications needed, show better continuity of care in managing obesity and weight loss.  Better continuance of care for obesity will result in a patient with a well-managed weight loss.

    Health Insurance – A patient with health insurance can use the insurance for payment purposes to aid in weight loss management, prescriptions medications, and bariatric surgery for the morbidly obese.  Insured patients result in continuity of care for obesity and results in a well-managed weight loss with the ability to maintain it. Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay.

    A4a.  Unmanaged Disease Factors

               
    The same factors can also impact a patient’s inability to manage their obesity.  The following shows how the factors can affect the patient’s inability to manage their weight loss:

     

    Access to Care – Patients will need to have access to the physician services for obesity   management care.  Periodic health assessments by a weight loss health care professional for proper management of the disease is required.  Also access to fitness centers and health food stores to aid in the continuation of a healthier lifestyle.  Patients can have lack of access to these services due to:  a) lack of weight loss providers, b) lack of resources to access the care, c) lack of transportation, d) lack of fitness centers and health food stores in patient area.  Lack of accessibility to the services provided will likely result in a patient that remains obese and is unable to manage any weight loss.

     

    Financial Resources – Patients who do not have the financial resources for physician’s management, healthier foods, gym memberships, counseling, prescription medications, or surgery, are likely to result in poor obesity management.

     

    Health Insurance – A patient who has no insurance is less likely to seek obesity management care.  Health insurance can help pay for physician visits and prescription medications.  Insurance also pays for bariatric surgery in the morbidly obese.  Lack of health insurance will result in little or no management for the obese patient.

    A4ai.  Unmanaged Disease Characteristics

               
    Managing weight loss is a lifestyle change that must continue even after the weight loss goal is accomplished.  Some patients have a difficult time maintaining a healthier lifestyle and regain the weight, or they may never lose the weight.  There are many reasons why a patient may not be able to manage their obesity.  Some of the reasons are:  lack of access to care, lack of financial resources for care, and lack of health insurance.

    An obese patient has increased risks for type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart disease, dyslipidemia, cerebrovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, pulmonary abnormalities, gastrointestinal abnormalities, reproductive disease, psychosocial problems, osteoarthritis, and cancer.  Obesity also prevents some access to care.  For example, MRI machines have weight limits of up to 450 pounds.  Surgical mortality is increased with obesity and some surgeons may choose not to operate due to the associated risk of mortality (“Complications of obesity in adults:  A short review of the literature,” n.d.).  These potential comorbidities and increased risks are all associated with a patient that is unable to manage their obesity.

    Patients, Families, and Populations

               
    Patients who have managed their obesity and were able to reach a healthy weight are expected to live a happier life.  With a normal BMI, a patient can participate in more physical activities and continue their career with no health-related risks.  There is also less hassle for the family to have to care for the patient who is obese and unable to care for themselves.

    Patients who are unable to manage their obesity are more likely to develop one or more of the comorbidities (heart disease, diabetes, or hypertension) associated with obesity.  Due to the increased weight and other related diseases the patient is more likely to be out of work frequently or permanently.  When a patient has no income and no insurance then assistance is needed from family members or friends and is going to cause more undue stress.  Financial problems will also arise from the medical bills incurred due to the obesity and related issues.

    Approximately 31% of adults in my community are obese.  The higher prevalence of obesity is among African Americans.  Alabama ranked 5th in the prevalence of obesity in 2012 (“State of Alabama Community Health Assessment 2015,” n.d.).  The local county health department also offers many programs and assistance to those in need.  A supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) is a program that information on nutrition and healthier foods (“WIC Program | Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH),” n.d.).

    B1.  Costs

               
    According to the CDC, obesity and the comorbidities associated with the disease economically affect the health care system. Medical costs are directly affected due to preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services that are associated with obesity.  The costs are indirectly affected due to decreased productivity at work and absenteeism.  In 2008 the estimated costs of care for the obese patient was $147 billion.  Nationwide productive costs related to obesity or absenteeism related to obesity was estimated at $3.38 billion to $6.38 billion (“Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences | Overweight & Obesity | CDC,” 2017)

    A study done in 2006 showed that obese people spent an estimated 42 percent more on medical spending than the normal-weight people.  Obesity related medical costs are estimated to be increased by 37 percent.  Increases in annual costs were estimated at 36 percent for Medicare, 47 percent for Medicaid, and 58 percent for private pay patients (“Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity:  Payer and Service-Specific Estimates,” n.d.).

    The cost of diagnosing obesity and managing weight loss can vary depending on the management plan.  If the patient is insured and the management plan is covered by insurance, then the only cost would be co-pays and deductibles that must be met by the patient.  For the morbidly obese patient that bariatric surgery is indicated for treatment, then insurance would cover the surgery and follow up appointments.

    The cost can be significant for the private paying patients.  A diet clinic in the author’s community (no insurance accepted) has a $60 charge for an office visit.  Other local physician offices have a $75 charge for an office visit for weight management treatment.  Prescriptions medications can also vary in price and insurance may or may not cover the cost.  A prescription of phentermine for thirty days is approximately $22 at a local pharmacy.  Naltrexone/bupropion prescriptions can range from $55 to $200 a month.  And the cost for bariatric surgery can range from $10,000 to over $20,000, depending on which surgery the patient and the physician determine is best.

    Best Practices Promotion

               
    Best practice promotion in an Obstetrician and Gynecology (OB/GYN) office setting, the author’s practice setting, is to increase patient awareness on the importance of weight control and physical activity during pregnancy and after delivery.  Also by following the current standards of practice for obesity, updating provider knowledge on the current practice guidelines would promote best practices.

    C1.  Implementation Plan

               
    The current setting this author is mainly involved in is obstetrics patients during pregnancy and up to 6 weeks postpartum.  The three strategies chosen for plan implementation include:

    Development of a healthy diet and physical activity plan for patients during pregnancy and after delivery.  A healthy, well-balanced diet and daily physical activity can help a patient maintain a healthy pregnancy and manage weight loss after delivery.

    Development of a dietician/nutritionist counselor. The counselor will provide patients with education on current guidelines for care related to managing obesity.  The counselor will also provide each patient a specific diet and activity management plan based on the patient’s specific needs and abilities.

    Development of provider and counselor education programs on the most current guidelines for obesity management. The programs will be available online and the providers and counselor will be required to complete the programs annually.Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

    C2.  Evaluation Method

               
    Evaluation of success of the three strategies stated above are as follows:

    The success of the healthy diet and physical activity plan with be shown by the patient maintaining a normal weight gain during pregnancy and returning to the pre-pregnancy weight after delivery.

    The success of the counselor will be shown by the patient verbalizing her understanding of obesity guideline education. Also, success will be shown by the patient choosing healthier food options and choosing to participate in daily physical activity. Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

    The success of the provider and counselor programs will be shown with completion of the online learning. And with chart documentation that shows the standard guidelines for obesity are being met by the providers and counselor.

    Resources

    Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences | Overweight & Obesity | CDC. (2017, August 29). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html

    Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity: Payer and Service-Specific Estimates. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/5/w822.full.pdf+html

    Complications of obesity in adults: A short review of the literature. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062780/ Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

    Diagnosis – NHLBI, NIH. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/diagnosis

    Diagnosis and Management of Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://aafp.org

    Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults — United States, 2006–2008. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5827a2.html

    McCance, K., & Huether, S. (2014).
    Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children, 7th Edition
    [Western Governors University]. Retrieved from Retrieved from
    https://wgu.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780323088541/

    New Obesity Guidelines: Authoritative ‘Roadmap’ to Treatment. (2013, November 12). Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com

    NIH study finds extreme obesity may shorten life expectancy up to 14 years. (n.d.). Retrieved from
    https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-extreme-obesity-may-shorten-life-expectancy-14-years

     

    Resources

     

    The Obesity Epidemic: Challenges, Health Initiatives, and Implications for Gastroenterologists. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3033553/ Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

    Special Report: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://stateofobesity.org/disparities/

    State of Alabama Community Health Assessment 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.alabamapublichealth.gov

    The State of Obesity: Obesity data trends and policy analysis. (2017, August 31). Retrieved from http://stateofobesity.org

    Strategies to Prevent Obesity. (2015). Retrieved from
    https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html

    Update on Office-Based Strategies for the Management of Obesity – American Family Physician. (2016, September 1). Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/afp/2016/0901/p361.html

    WIC Program | Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/dekalb/wic.html Pathopharmacological foundations for advanced nursing practice c155 obesity Essay

  • Carper’s ways of knowing essay examples

    Carper’s ways of knowing essay examples

    Instructions:

    For this assignment, consider Carper’s Ways of Knowing: empirical, personal, ethical, and aesthetic. For each way of knowing, describe a clinical situation including a nursing intervention you implemented while caring for a patient, family, group, or community. In your description, explain how the particular way of knowing informed the decision to implement the intervention.

    Use one scholarly reference for each of your four explanations in order to provide support for your reasons that a particular intervention is an example of the selected way of knowing. Use a different reference for each of the four descriptions. Use references other than those provided in assigned course readings. Be sure you know what a “scholarly reference” is; see 18200 Library Guide tab “Journal Types” for more information. APA formatting must be applied and errors in spelling and grammar must be absent; these are standard requirements for presenting scholarly, professional products.

    Carper’s ways of knowing essay examples

    Carper’s Ways of Knowing

    Introduction

    Barbara Carper introduced four critical ways of knowing that contribute to nursing knowledge’s conceptual and syntactical structure. These ways include; ethical, aesthetic, empirical, and personal knowledge. Personal understanding of practice requires precision, especially for clinicians.  Clinical personnel obtains their knowledge from philosophical assumptions. Nurses need to communicate symbolically with sensible information for them to do nursing activities effectively. Epistemology reveals how nurses know and acquire shared knowledge in nursing by examining how knowledge is produced. Knowing does a manner of perceiving and comprehending the world and oneself, whereas knowledge is a description of the world that is reasonably correct. Sounds, gestures, and actions are used to express the knowledge obtained through practice. Even in practice, much of what is already known may be represented formally. Carper examined early nursing literature in 1978 and identified four persistent and essential patterns of knowledge that have shown to be effective and valuable for nurses in practice.

    These nursing patterns of knowing are linked because nurses learn part of the discipline’s information during their elementary education, and this knowledge develops during practice. Formalized nursing practice is established through the application of inquiry methods based on both formal and practical methodologies. In my pediatric emergency room nursing practice, I have used these means of knowing to guarantee that my practice methods are effective. This study addresses Carper’s four modes of knowledge: ethics, personal, empirics, and aesthetics. It will analyze my exemplar experiences critically, demonstrating these approaches and how they have informed my practice. The main aim of this paper is to describe how each of the patterns of thinking is applied in a clinical situation and the nursing interventions that clinicians can use while caring for the patients, it goes further explaining how the pattern of knowing informed the decision to implement the intervention.

    Application of ways of knowing

    Clinical situation

    In the same hospital that I was serving, the  family members brought a patient suffering from Asthma. It was late at night; the nurses took the patients and started operating on the critical condition. The patient was a regular one, everyone knew his condition thus, and attending to the problem became easy. Since it was late, the family members did not go back home. They rested in one room of the health center worried but praying that their member could make it alive. As nurses, we carried out a diagnosis to know what exactly the patient was suffering. I realized that the patient was already breathing faster with a fast heartbeat. I was not supposed to show that I am worried but the condition of the man was not good at all. I also prayed while attending to the man because his condition had grown worse. Further information from the family indicated that the man fainted after feeling dizzy for some time.

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    I offered him some quick relief inhalers known as bronchodilators to aid in opening swollen airways, which were limiting the breathing, additionally, I offered some medical allergy to the patient but he did not manage to work. When I examined closely, I realized the patient had died. Checking through the window, I saw how the members were heavily praying and crying and this made me worry. The situation had formed itself and the family members needed to know it. I just organized myself and using Carper’s Ways of Knowing, I managed to deliver the bad news effectively. As a nurse, I have learned to avoid euphemisms and medical jargon while being honest and empathetic. Allow for stillness and weeping, and move at the pace of the patient. Allow the patient to explain how he or she comprehended the news; repeat this information at following appointments. Allow time to respond to queries; jot down notes and provide written information.

    This was just among the situations I face in the nursing practice. Breaking bad news is the most challenging part and as a professional nurse, I usually identify effective ways of intervention. It is unethical to break the bad news to individuals anyhow without considering the outcome. At some point, I had to break news about the demise of the patients to their families, bad news concerning infertility, or bad news concerning a test, for instance, HIV & AIDs test (Bumb et al., 2017).

    Ethical knowing

    According to Carper (1978), ethical knowing acknowledges the knowledge of ethical codes and norms by examining the codes, standards, and values that are seen as morally right, resulting in a better understanding of the moral choices that must be made.  As a nurse, the most appropriate action is having ethical knowing.  Ethical knowing helps the nurse to know how to break the bad news to either patients, family, friends, or community without breaking the moral standards. I always observed the moral standards, codes, and values, which both the organization and society considered right. For ethical knowing, I keep in mind the principles needed when breaking bad news. These principles include; the set-up/environment, the perception of the party present, the knowledge of the recipient, and empathy (Corwin et al., 2019) Carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Personal knowing

    Personal knowing is concerned with knowing oneself as well as others. As a result, when one knows more about oneself, the other can also be known. Generally, this type of knowledge involves the knowledge that people have of themselves and the things they have seen and experienced. People acquire this knowledge through self-actualization, reflection, and observation. Carper realized that it is through the knowledge of oneself that one can establish therapeutic, authentic with high integrity. When I started studying nursing, I possessed a piece of knowledge on treating patients well. I also gained knowledge on how to break the bad news to patients without creating too much negative impact. As a nurse, I have gained personal knowledge on how various individuals interact, their reactions, and their perceptions. Before breaking any bad news, I first refer to my knowledge of the recipient (Thorne, 2020).

    Aesthetic knowing

    In nursing, aesthetic knowledge is a technique of recognizing realities that are not scientifically observable — the situation’s profound implications. As a nurse, I needed to gain a better understanding of problems so that I can easily develop an effective solution through critical and creative thinking. I gained aesthetic knowledge from subjective data. I therefore, employed aesthetic knowledge in this clinical situation. As a nurse, I had to employ much creativity in breaking the sad news to ensure that the recipient is not subjected to pain. In the face of universal human sensations like grief, joy, worry, fear, and love, aesthetic awareness is extracted. Even though these experiences are ubiquitous, they are expressed in unique ways for each individual. Anxiety, pain, fear, and love all have common expressions that people are familiar with. However, each individual’s journey is unique (Schwind & Manankil-Rankin, 2020).

    Empirical knowing

    Empirical knowing is acquired through research and objective facts. Mostly, the knowledge is organized into general laws and theories and is employed by using evidence-based practice. As a nurse, I have done a lot of research relating to my field and thus gaining empirical knowing. However, in a situation like breaking bad news, one has to apply more empirical knowing to achieve the goal. Study findings have changed my nursing practice and making me gain more knowledge on nursing practice. Despite breaking bad news being a heavy task, readings from various sources and research have aided in the development of this kind of knowledge (Swift & Twycross, 2020).

    Conclusion

    The practice of nursing is a holistic, human discipline. The ways of knowing to allow us to understand ourselves and nursing practice at a much deeper level; to appreciate nursing as both an art and a science. Consider how the ways of knowing can assist you in being a better person, a better student, and a better nurse. Nurses must comprehend what the various forms of knowing to imply to generate both collective and individual responses to the creation of knowledge. Nursing knowledge can help to facilitate coherence by allowing nurses to make conscious choices to avoid ethical issues during practice. As a nurse, it will be critical for me to expand on the knowledge I already have in my practice so that I may continue to grow and develop via new experiences. The ethical exemplar has had an impact on my practice by teaching me how to deal with difficulties regarding children and their guardians. The personal knowing model taught me to appreciate others, particularly children who are unable to protect themselves.

     

    References

    Bumb, M., Keefe, J., Miller, L., & Overcash, J. (2017). Breaking bad news: An evidence-based review of communication models for oncology nurses. 
    Clinical journal of oncology nursing
    , 
    21
    (5), 573-580.

    Corwin, E., Redeker, N. S., Richmond, T. S., Docherty, S. L., & Pickler, R. H. (2019). Ways of knowing in precision health. 
    Nursing outlook
    , 
    67
    (4), 293-301.

    Rafii, F., Nasrabadi, A. N., & Tehrani, F. J. (2021). How Nurses Apply Patterns of Knowing in Clinical Practice: A Grounded Theory Study. 
    Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences
    , 
    31
    (1).

    Schwind, J. K., & Manankil-Rankin, L. (2020). Using Narrative Reflective Process to augment personal and aesthetic ways of knowing to support holistic person-centred relational practice. 
    Reflective Practice
    , 
    21
    (4), 473-483 Carper’s ways of knowing essay examples

    Swift, A., & Twycross, A. (2020). Using ways of knowing in nursing to develop educational strategies that support knowledge mobilization. 
    Paediatric and Neonatal Pain
    , 
    2
    (4), 139-147.

    Thorne, S. (2020). Rethinking Carper’s personal knowing for 21st century nursing. 
    Nursing Philosophy
    , 
    21
    (4), e12307.

     

    Carper’s ways of knowing essay examples

    This is an individual writing assignment. For this assignment, consider Carper’s Ways of Knowing: empirical, personal, ethical, and aesthetic. For each way of knowing, describe a clinical situation including a nursing intervention you implemented while caring for a patient, family, group, or community. In your description, explain how the particular way of knowing informed the decision to implement the intervention.

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    Use one scholarly reference for each of your four explanations in order to provide support for your reasons that a particular intervention is an example of the selected way of knowing. Use a different reference for each of the four descriptions. Use references other than those provided in assigned course readings. APA formatting must be applied and errors in spelling and grammar must be absent; these are standard requirements for presenting scholarly, professional products. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    This assignment directly relates to course objective ” Explore the development of nursing knowledge in the context of nursing science.”

     

    Carper’s Ways of Knowing

    For clinicians, personal knowledge about practice needs precision. Through philosophical assumptions, the clinical workers get their knowledge. During nursing practise, nurses need to have knowledge on symbolic communication with justifiable knowledge. The ways that knowing and knowledge are developed concern epistemology revealing how nurses know and acquire shared knowledge in nursing. Knowing is a way of perception and understanding of the world and the self, while knowledge is a reasonably accurate accounts of the world. The knowledge that is found in practice is expressed by use of sounds, movements and actions. Much of what is already known can be expressed formally even in practice.

    In 1978, there was an examination of early nursing literature by Carper who mentioned four enduring and fundamental patterns of knowing that have been useful and valuable for nurses in practice. These patterns of knowing in nursing have an interrelation with nurses learning some of the discipline’s knowledge in the basic education they receive and the acquired knowledge is in turn built upon during practice (Benner, 2001). Nursing practice that is expressed formally is developed through the use of inquiry methods grounded in both formal and practice methods.  In my nursing practice in the paediatric emergency room, I have utilized these ways of knowing to ensure that my ways of practicing are successful. This paper considers an interpretation of the ways of knowing by Carper: ethics, personal, empirics and aesthetics. It will critically examine my exemplar experiences, illustrating these two ways and how they have influenced my practice. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Carper’s Ways of Knowing

    Proposed by Professor Barbara A. Carper,
    Carper’s Ways of Knowing
    is a classification of the diverse sources and patterns in nursing from which knowledge can be acquired. This categorization consists of four patterns; empirics, aesthetics, ethics, and personal knowledge. Carper proposed the four patterns in 1978 to characterize the complex phenomenon of knowledge utilized by nurses when providing care to the patients. The following is an analysis of two of the four patterns; ethical knowing and personal knowing.

    Ethical knowing according to Carper (1978) acknowledges the knowledge of ethical codes and norms by examining the codes, standards and values that are seen as morally right resulting in better awareness of the moral choices that are to be made. Personal knowing is focused on knowing one self and also that of others. Thus, when one knows more about the self, then the other can also be known. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Personal Knowing

    In nursing, personal knowledge is a fundamental pattern but the most problematic in teaching and mastering. On the other hand, it is an essential pattern of understanding the meanings of health terms of the well-being of individuals. As an interpersonal process, nursing consists of transactions, relationships and interactions between the nurse and the patient (Carper, 1978).  Chinn and Kramer (1999) describe the pattern of personal knowing as a creation of experiences through self-encounters by focussing on the self and having a realization of the potentials and realities of life. There is also the involvement of encounters, experiences and focus.  The quality of interpersonal relationships and contact is evidently more influential on the illness of a person occurring, becoming well and coping with the illness (Chinn & Kramer, 1999). The main aspect of personal knowledge is the encountering, knowing and actualizing of the individual self. In this term, a person does not know about the self but keeps string to know.

    In the therapeutic use of self, the nurse does not approach the patient as an object but keeps striving to have actual personal relationships (Chinn & Kramer, 1999). When other people accept to have an authentic personal relation, they then create a sense of freedom in themselves and recognize each person. Therefore, as a nurse, it becomes my responsibility to have social relationships with my patients and view them as individuals during my professional responsibilities (Carper, 1978). With the emergence of personal knowing throughout life there can be full expression of the genuine self with accessibility being possible only through deliberate interactions and actions. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Ethical Knowing

    There has been increased sensitivity by practitioners and nurses on the personal choices that are difficult to make in modern health care. Fundamental and significant questions are raised about the wrong actions and the moral rights related to care and treatment of illness and health promotion. The ethical way of knowing is a fundamental pattern of knowing that focuses on the moral obligations, guiding what needs to be done (Chinn & Kramer, 1999). This component offers guidance for the choices to be made in the event of complex situations. Through this pattern, nurses are directed into doing what’s right and what’s expected under any circumstance. This pattern covers fundamental values and aspects in the nursing code of ethics such as self-respect, value for human dignity, accountability, among others. However, it exceeds the knowledge of the ethical codes of conduct as according to Carper (1978), and is also inclusive of all deliberate voluntary actions that are subject to judgment of what is right or wrong. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    In situations of uncertainty and ambiguity, there are moral dilemmas that arise especially when one cannot predict the consequences of their actions and the traditional principles that they are supposed to follow without contradiction (Chinn & Kramer, 1999). The primary principle of obligation covered in the concept of serving people and respecting human life is what guides the moral code. Nursing holds the conservation of life, promotion of health and alleviation of suffering as valuable and essential in social services (Carper, 1978). Therefore, the use of this way of knowing becomes essential especially when dealing with children. In the assessment of this dimension, Jacobs-Kramer and Chinn focused on justice as it also accommodates the ethics of care.

    It is evident that Chinn and Kramer agree with Carper on what ethical knowing and personal knowing entail as they serve nursing knowledge.  Ethical knowing is focussed on the moral obligations needed during practice, while personal knowing is based on knowing oneself in a better way so that service can be offered to others. The authors give related opinions as those of Carper on their definitions.

    Exemplars in Practice

    My encounter with a traumatized three year old boy, brought to the hospital by his grandmother, has left a mark in my pediatric career. I meet parents who are worried about their children every day; however, this grandmother had been shaken by her grandson’s situation. Upon admission, it was discovered that the child had suffered severe physical injuries, warranting for the immediate involvement of social work. The entrance of the social workers ended up complicating the emergency situation at hand. I was taken aback by the social workers’ handling of the situation. As a nurse, I was concerned with dealing with the emergency case in my hands. However, the social workers were concerned with questioning the patient’s grandmother on the cause of the physical injuries that the patient had suffered. The poor grandmother was at pains to explain the cause of the injuries. In so doing, the social workers were adding to the confusion and tension in the emergency room. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    The entrance of the social workers in the child’s case had created a serious issue that required the use of applied ethics to solve. On one hand, the life of the traumatized boy with physical abuse was at stake. Whereas on the other, there was the need to allow the social workers to discharge their obligation in a case involving physical abuse to a child. Knowledge in applied ethics came in handy. The grandmother of the child remained shocked while the social workers were interrogating her regarding the physical abuse. As such, she was not offering much help to the social workers. Tempers had risen, as the social workers were of the opinion that the grandmother was taking them for a ride. On noticing that the situation in the emergency room was working against the welfare of the patient, I moved with authority and sent the social workers out of the room. This allowed the medical team enough time and opportunity to concentrate on the patient. Within no time, the traumatized child was able to cool down. He was treated for the physical pain that he was suffering as well.

    Working in a pediatric emergency room necessitates personal knowledge. My ability to bond with the child played a critical role in calming down the traumatized child. It was my knowledge and understanding that the child had gone through trauma in the hands of his tormentor that enabled me to explain to the child that he was in safe hands and that nothing bad would happen to him again. This assurance was what the poor child needed in order to smile again. By combining my personal knowledge with applied ethics, I embarked on a mission to finally bring an end to the bad blood between the child’s grandmother and the social workers. The now relaxed grandmother was able to explain how she had risked her own life by forcefully taking the child from his parents. From here, it was established that the child’s parents were deep into drug abuse and the child was seen as an obstacle. The child’s parents were responsible for the physical abuse that he had suffered. It was obvious that the social workers had wasted time on an equally traumatized grandmother, and in so doing, put the child’s life at risk. From this day, the use of personal knowledge and applied ethics form the core of my profession as a pediatric nurse.

    Conclusion

    As both collective and individual responses are developed by nurses on the development of knowledge, there has to be an understanding of what the ways of knowing actually entail. Coherence can be facilitated through nursing knowledge in making deliberate choices to avoid ethical dilemmas during practice. As a nurse, it will be essential for me to build upon the knowledge that I already have in my practice to enable growth and development through more experiences. The ethical exemplar has influenced my practice by giving me knowledge on how to face dilemmas involving children and their guardians. The personal knowing exemplar gave me an understanding of appreciating others especially children that cannot defend themselves. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Reference
    s

    Benner, P. E. (2001).
    From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice
    . Pearson.

    Carper, B. A. (1978). Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing.
    Advances in nursing science
    ,
    1
    (1), 13-24.

    Chinn, P. L., & Kramer, M. K. (1999). Theory and nursing integrated knowledge development.

     

    Applying Ways of Knowing to a Clinical Case

    Nursing is seen as an art and a science.  Nurses must be able to portray different roles within the nursing profession.  Being able to meet a patient’s needs physically, emotionally, and spiritually leads to a holistic experience for the patient and the nurse.  Barbara Carper, a nurse, provided the basic framework for holistic nursing focusing on knowing and knowledge in the nursing profession.  “Carper’s way of knowing in nursing, empirics, esthetics, personal knowing, and ethics, provide a guide to holistic practice, education, and research” (Holtslander, 2008).  “Knowing is a cognitive process, and four patterns of knowing—empirical, ethical, personal, and aesthetic—characterize nursing” (Cipriano, 2007).  The four patterns that Carper’s method focus on are not isolated events and when used together the patient receives the best care.  In this paper, I will focus on Carper’s method, provide an example related to her method and identify/reflect on the situation as it relates to her model. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Clinical Situation

    While charging in the emergency room one night, I encountered a family that was not comfortable taking their mother home.  I had not been directly involved in the patient’s care, however, the patient’s primary nurse shared the same concerns as the patient’s family.  I reviewed the patient’s chart and noticed the patient presented to the emergency department with a sudden inset od shortness of breath and minor chest pain that was deemed noncardiac by the physician.  The emergency physician simply dismissed the patient’s symptoms and diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection, gave her a dose of IV antibiotics, and a prescription for oral antibiotics to take home.  When I assess the patient, she was not in any acute distress, however, I auscultated expiratory and inspiratory wheezes in her right lung and diminished breath sounds in her left lung.  The patient did have a history of CHF and newly diagnosed COPD.  The family reported to me during my assessment that she had been seen earlier in the day as well for similar complaints but that this episode had been much worse than the first.  carper’s ways of knowing essay examples. The patient’s nurse reported to me that the physician had not physically evaluated the patient during this visit but had reviewed her visit from earlier in the day.  I reviewed the patient’s earlier visit and noted that the chest x-ray showed minor infiltrates in the left and right lung that was secondary to her COPD and that her lab work was overall unremarkable accept for a BNP level that was > 100 pg/mL.  I took this information to the physician and reported to him that the patient’s symptoms were worse and that she had diminished breath sounds in the left lung field.  He did not seem to be impressed or moved with my assessment and the family’s discomfort in taking her home.  He told me to discharge the patient because he was the doctor and I was just a nurse. I felt that the patient did not meet criteria for discharge, so I called our department manager and expressed my concerns.  The department manager spoke with the physician and expressed her concerns as well and he reluctantly ran some further testing on the patient.  Upon receiving her results, the patient had worsening infiltrates in the lung, an elevated WBC count, and a BNP level of 1500 pg/mL.  The patient was admitted to the hospital with CHF, exacerbation of COPD, and leukocytosis. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Aesthetics (Esthetics)

    “Aesthetics provides unique means through which clients and nurses can explore personal perceptions of aspects of their world and fosters a creative sense of self-awareness” (Koithan, 1996).  Nurses gain aesthetic knowledge from subjective data.  I believe the underlying situation was that the physician did not perform a complete head to toe assessment and based his assessment and diagnosis off previous information.  The physician did not take into consideration that the patient’s history and the fact that when she presented the second time her symptoms were worse and warranted further testing and physical evaluation.  Nursing staff demonstrated aesthetics by identifying the patient’s basic and social needs, interacting directly with the patient/patient’s family, and by recognizing the validity of the family’s concerns.

    Personal

    “Personal knowledge refers to the way in which nurses view themselves and the client” (McEwen & Mills, 2014, p. 13).  Nurses gain personal knowledge from subjective data.  This data promotes engagement instead of detachment (McEwen & Mills, 2014, p. 14).  In my nursing career, I have learned not to take things at face value.  By doing so, I learned to be more in sync with my patients and their families.  Engaging the patient and the patient’s family allowed me to use past experiences and encounters to provide further evaluation, testing, and inpatient hospital care for the patient. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.

    Ethics

    “Ethics refers to the moral code of nursing and is based on obligation to service and respect for human life” (McEwen & Mills, 2014, p. 14).  A personal belief that impacted my actions was that this patient was in need and that she was not receiving the care that she had a right to receive and which she had access carper’s ways of knowing essay examples.  I acted as an advocate for this patient and her family following my own personal values.  The patient’s condition clearly did not meet discharge criteria and demanded a second look by myself and the physician.  Reporting the assessment information higher than the physician gave the patient access to the care that she needed.  According to White (1995), sociopolitical knowing causes the nurse to question the taken-for-granted assumptions about practice, the profession, and health policies (p. 84).

     

     

    Empirical

    “Empirical knowledge tends to be the most emphasized way of knowing in nursing because there is a need to know how knowledge can be organized into laws and theories for the purpose of describing” (McEwen & Mills, 2014, p. 13).  I applied this knowledge by using nursing interventions to assess the patient and review previous labs and x-rays from her earlier visit.  Evaluating the patient further gave me a reason to believe that the patient did not have a simple upper respiratory infection and since her symptoms were worse upon return that further testing and evaluation was needed.  The infiltrates in both lungs and the elevated BNP was indicative that the patient was in the early stages of heart failure.  “Measurement of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a cardiac hormone, this test may have a role in detecting, monitoring, and perhaps preventing chronic heart failure” (Doust, Lehman, & Glasziou, 2006).

    Conclusion

    The clinical case presented involved an intricacy of complications and issues related to patient care.  By using my assessment skills, reviewing the patient’s chart and implementing nursing interventions I was able to give the patient access to the care that she needed.  Easily observed issues were the patient’s worsening of symptoms, borderline lab values, and chest x-ray.  The reassessment and reflection of this clinical case has influenced my personal morals and experience as a nurse so that I will continue to provide care for patients, advocate for patients, and care for patients based on a holistic approach. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples I identified Carper’s four fundamental patterns of knowing to a clinical case by discussing each pattern that can lead to improvements in my personal nursing practice.  I also learned to appreciate Carper’s four fundamentals and how they apply to situations I am faced with daily.

     

    References

    Cipriano, P.F. (2007). Celebrating the art and science of nursing.
    American Nurse Today, 2
    (5). Retrieved from
    https://www.americannursetoday.com/celebrating-the-art-and-science-of-nurisng/
    .

    Doust, J., Lehman, R., & Glasziou, P. (2006). The role of BNP testing in heart failure.
    American Family Physician, 74
    (11), 1893-1900. Retrieved from
    https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/1201/p1893.html
    .

    Holtslander, L.F. (2008). Ways of knowing hope: Carper’s fundamental patterns as a guide for hope research with bereaved palliative caregivers.
    Nursing Outlook, (56)
    1, 25-30. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2007.08.001. carper’s ways of knowing essay examples

    Kothian, M.S. (1996). Aesthetics in nursing practice and education.
    Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 17
    (6), 529-539. Retrieved from
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9052092
    .

    McEwen, M., & Wills, E. (2014). 
    Theoretical Basis for Nursing, 4th Edition
    . [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from 
    https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781469899992/
    .

    White, J. (1995). Patterns of knowing: Review, critique, and update. 
    Advances in Nursing Practice, 17
    (4), 73-86. Retrieved form
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7625782
     carper’s ways of knowing essay examples