Implementing Evidence-Based Practice
The evidence-based practices are always the best solution to any clinical problem as they provide scientifically proven solutions to the problems that seem impossible to handle effectively. These solutions are based on best practices that have been conducted in the past to ensure the effectiveness of the treatment provided to the deteriorating health conditions of the patients without any delay (Bhati et al., 2023). Moreover, these practices ensure that members from different disciplines have been involved in the practice to ensure the positivity of the outcomes that will be then used evidently in the future to cure certain health issues thus preventing health damage. To implement an evidence-based practice project it is necessary to identify specific clinical health issues and their backgrounds for the effectiveness of the plan. In this assessment, the issue is to provdie efficient healthcare facilities to older adults having type 2 diabetes belonging to vulnerable communities using technology.
Moreover, the action plan is identified for the implementation of the strategies through the involvement of the stakeholders and identifying the practice change strategies involving innovations for the effectiveness of the implementation plan and the satisfaction of the patients along with the staff members (Varsi et al., 2019). The plan will be sustainable if the proper outcome criteria are developed for the evaluation of the efficiency of the plan using evidence-based best practices. The value and relevancy must be ensured while integrating effective practices based on evidence in the treatment of people having diabetes for better response and enhancement of the overall reputation of the healthcare organization in delivering quality health services.
PICOT Question for a Clinical Issue
The PICOT question for older adults having type 2 diabetes is:
“In older adults having type 2 diabetes (P), how does the implementation of telehealth services and mobile applications (I), in comparison with traditional healthcare services (C), improve the blood glucose level and increase patient engagement (T) over six months (T)?
Diabetes is a prevailing chronic disease in older adults that needs effective strategies to control its spread at a large scale thus preventing exacerbations of the disease leading to adverse health outcomes. The lack of transportation, health services, and limited knowledge about the management of diabetes leads to severe health problems including an increase in blood pressure, kidney issues, heart strokes, and so on. The integration of proper self-management strategies along with the use of telehealth services and mobile applications will be beneficial to increase awareness among individuals about the timely management of disease and prevention of health damage (Haleem et al., 2021). Moreover, the emerging healthcare information technologies make it the need of time for all healthcare organizations to integrate health services in the clinical setting that are based on evidence-based practices and technology for the improvement in the health response of the patients and increase the rate of positive health outcomes. Telehealth services provide facilities for the remote monitoring of patient health situations and allow easy consultation of the patient with the healthcare provider in case of emergencies.
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
The ADA also focuses on the integration of telehealth services in clinical practice to provide early healthcare service to patients and improve patient response. The implementation of telehealth services provides better ways for patients or older adults who are more vulnerable to diabetes to effectively manage their health situation by regularly monitoring the levels of blood glucose, improving physical activities, and taking a diabetic diet necessary for the improvement of the health situation.
Action Plan to Implement Evidence-Based Practice Project
In the implementation of a practice project based on evidence, an action plan is required that effectively demonstrates the recommendation for the change in practice and how the change will improve the health outcomes by properly defining a timeline and resources needed to ensure the effectiveness of the plan. A few recommendations for the change are as follows;
- Integrate telehealth services for the regular monitoring of patient health situations and early intervention of health care providers.
- Develop mobile applications that can provide a user-friendly interface to the patients for better understanding and effective monitoring of blood glucose levels.
- Provide quality education and training to the patients regarding the use of telehealth and mobile apps for the management of health diseases.
- The integrated technology must be considerate of the cultural preferences of the patients and remove linguistic barriers.
- The engagement of community health workers (CHW) is necessary to ensure that the vulnerable community is getting timely health facilities.
Timeline
The project timeline is based on six months with the first month dedicated to identifying stakeholders, analyzing the financial resources, and designing educational materials to effectively communicate with the stakeholders. The second month is based on the training of the staff members and CHW to understand the use of technology and implement pilot testing for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan. The third and fourth months will be spent on providing technological he;ath services at a large scale involving patients and collecting feedback from the patients. The fifth month will analyze the evaluation data collected and make improvements needed. The last month will be used to ensure the sustainability of the program implemented to improve the health situation of diabetic patients.
The technological tools and resources needed must comply with the rules and regulations provided by HIPAA regarding the protection of patient safety as it is the major factor in ensuring the effectiveness of the treatment provided (Edemekong et al., 2024). The telehealth services implementation platform is needed along with the user-friendly mobile applications effectively developed for the easy use of patients. Educational resources like videos and journals are needed for the training of the patients, CHWs, and stakeholders to ensure the effective use of technology by ensuring the safety of data obtained from patients for treatment purposes.
Stakeholders Identification
Stakeholder identification is necessary to ensure that all the effective members are collaborating in the implementation process so that every area of concern should be determined at the pilot testing stage along with the accurate identification of the needs of the healthcare facility for the sustainability of the practice change. The stakeholders involved are given below;
- Older adults having type 2 diabetes
- Community Health Workers
- Information Technology Experts
- Family Members and care coordinators
- Healthcare professionals
- Regulatory Agencies
- Community healthcare organizations
Opportunities for Innovation
The telehealth platforms can be upgraded by improving the interface allowing video instructions, enhanced font size, and effective text type for the understanding of older adults (Bertolazzi et al., 2024). In mobile applications, the content can be improved by integrating culturally competent services, language facilities, graphics icons, and video graphics. Using the technology reminders for the medications or alarms for the collected data from the regular monitoring regarding the deteriorating of the health situation can be provided to the patients in the real-time setting without any delay.
Potential Barriers to Practice Change
The barriers to change include insufficient knowledge of the healthcare providers and community workers regarding the implementation, upgrading, and effective use of technology, and limited knowledge and exposure of patients about the integration of technology into their lifestyle with the lack of technological knowledge (Perez et al., 2022). The limited access to technology for certain populations and ineffective internet resources is also one of the major barriers. Moreover, The cultural background, linguistics challenges, and concerns about patient information privacy and safety also create hurdles in the implementation plan.
Actions to Overcome Barriers
The challenges can be overcome by increasing the resources through collaboration with healthcare leaders, communities, and non-profit healthcare organizations to ensure the availability of resources for the improvement in the health outcomes of the patients (Alderwick et al., 2021). Implement pilot testing strategies for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan implemented and engage all the stakeholders in the testing phase. Proper educational programs should be introduced to ensure the enhancement of knowledge of the patients and the stakeholders.
Outcome Criteria to Evaluate Evidence-Based Practice Project
The criteria for outcomes are necessary to ensure that the developed milestones are effectively evaluated for the positive outcomes of the patients. Without proper evaluation, the effectiveness of the project can not be determined which will reduce the sustainability of the project. The criteria for the evaluation are given below;
- The level of hemoglobin A1c must be reduced to 3-4% in the six months which is the major factor in ensuring the success of the plan implemented.
- 70% increase in the usage of mobile applications and telehealth services by patients for the monitoring of their blood glucose levels.
- The reduction in the rate of hospital readmissions must be about 50% for older adults having type 2 diabetes.
- The rate of patient satisfaction with the treatment provided using change in practices should be increased to 90%.
- 90% of healthcare professionals must be satisfied with the outcomes of the technology and practice change integration in the clinical facility.
The reduction in the rate of hospital readmissions and improvement in the level of patient engagement provides evidence of the effectiveness of telehealth in the clinical facility (Ezeamii et al., 2024). The success of the outcome measures will create a need for effective policy implementation in the healthcare organization. Moreover, the outcomes can ensure the appropriateness of the technology intervention in the clinical facility for the future along with increasing the satisfaction of the patients by integrating culturally competent technologies.
Value and Relevance of Evidence
Evidence-based practice project regarding the change in the current health setting for the improvement in the health outcomes of the patients having diabetes. The evidence and the policies strongly support the integration of technology in the process of making decisions about the treatment that will be provided to the patients (Stoumpos et al., 2023). Moreover, the technological advancements in the healthcare industry also make it the need of time to integrate practices and policies that are effective in ensuring the quality outcome of patient health. The integration of telehealth shows that the level of hemoglobin is reduced in diabetes patients by regular monitoring and timely consultation with healthcare providers. The alarms and reminders from telehealth increase the patient’s engagement in the effective monitoring of blood glucose levels and medications. The rate of hospital readmissions is also reduced through the intervention of technology thus increasing the rate of patient satisfaction which is an essential factor in ensuring the effectiveness of the practice change.
Search Strategy and the Used Database
The search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library with the specific search keywords including “older adults with type 2 diabetes”, “Mobile applications”, “telehealth services”, “reduction in hospital readmissions”, “evidence-based practices”, and “patient self-management”. These search platforms provide effective databases regarding the key terms thus ensuring the quality of the information collected and implemented to ensure the effectiveness of the integrated technologies in the clinical setting. The research articles were based on the recent years including the last five for the effectiveness of the updated data in the medical setting.
NURS FPX 6011 Assessment 3 Conclusion
The identification of the health needs of the patients is necessary to ensure that the action plan implemented based on evidence-based practices is effective in meeting the requirements of the current healthcare industry thus validating the effectiveness of the health outcomes having sustainable measures (Willmington et al., 2022). The identification of the key stakeholders to ensure the best innovation strategies and the effective identification and overcoming of the barriers are necessary for the proficiency of the practice change and long-lasting effects of the improved measures. The outcome criteria must be identified for the evaluation of the plan’s effectiveness and identification of the practice gaps to make needed recommendations and adjustments. The relevancy of the evidence must be determined with the outcomes for the effectiveness of the plan.
NURS FPX 6011 Assessment 3 References
Alderwick, H., Hutchings, A., Briggs, A., & Mays, N. (2021). The impacts of collaboration between local health care and non-health care organizations and factors shaping how they work: A systematic review of reviews.
BMC Public Health,
21(1), 1–16.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10630-1
Bertolazzi, A., Quaglia, V., & Bongelli, R. (2024). Barriers and facilitators to health technology adoption by older adults with chronic diseases: An integrative systematic review.
BMC Public Health,
24(1), 506.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18036-5
