NURS-FPX4900 Assessment 4 Patient, Family, or Population Health Problem Solution Example Patient, Family or Population Health Problem Solution
NURS-FPX4900 Assessment 4 Patient, Family, or Population Health Problem Solution Example
Patient, Family or Population Health Problem Solution
Cancer is a major public health concern, affecting different health populations. The condition negatively impacts the quality of life for the individuals affected. Following assessing a population’s health concerns, nurses should propose professional solutions to these problems. The solutions should be well developed and use different considerations of the problem, such as its impact on the population.
The population problem of focus in this project is cancer among African Americans. The previous assessments assessed the problem from leadership, change management, communication, policy, costs, care quality, technology, community resources and care coordination considerations. These considerations informed the development of the intervention solution, which will be analyzed in this paper. The different aspects that influenced the development of the intervention will also be explored.
Solution/Intervention Summary
The feasible solution developed to address the cancer health concern among the African American population is population education. The population education will be presented to the group in their community while working together with other players in cancer care to ensure the health concern is addressed holistically. The population educational intervention will entail awareness creation of cancer, its risk factors, prevention and early detection, and the appropriate management of the condition. The intervention addresses the issue by improving population knowledge of the condition, thus enabling population members to take the relevant actions to prevent and manage the condition effectively.
I selected cancer as the health problem of focus after experiencing its adverse effects on individuals. Having lived and worked among the African American population, I understand the magnitude of the health concern among them, having borne a disproportionate burden. In addition, the problem is relevant to my professional practice, considering we are trained to care for patients with different healthcare conditions across the health continuum. The population also needs a solution to health concerns, thus improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
Role of Leadership and Change Management in Addressing Cancer Among African Americans
Leadership plays a crucial role in addressing population health concerns, while change management enhances a smooth transition after implementing the solutions, leading to sustainable change. Using appropriate leadership strategies in developing and implementing an intervention promotes success since the leaders support it. In addition, it attracts buy-in from leaders and the population in which the intervention is being implemented, thus promoting intervention acceptance and sustainability.
Different leadership strategies influenced the development of the population education intervention. These strategies include having a clear vision and employing a collaborative approach. Cummings et al. (2021) note that having a clear vision and sharing it with the team are essential leadership strategies that enhance success since they know what they aim to achieve. In this case, the vision addressed the cancer concern among African Americans. All players in cancer care were informed of the vision, thus enabling them to work together towards achieving it.
Furthermore, using a collaborative leadership approach influenced the intervention’s development. According to De Brún et al. (2019), collaborative leadership entails developing an environment whereby stakeholders work together towards achieving similar outcomes. The collaborative leadership approach was appropriate since cancer care entails different stakeholders. The relevant stakeholders in this intervention include the cancer patients from the focus population, healthcare providers (nurses, physicians, oncologists, pharmacists), community health workers, and social workers. The collaborative approach enabled the collection of data and perspectives of different stakeholders, thus incorporating them into the intervention to strengthen it and enhance its acceptability.
The change management strategies influencing the intervention’s development include open communication and active stakeholder engagement. Open and effective communication enables team members to effectively implement an intervention by providing feedback and seeking clarifications (McCarthy & Eastman, 2021). In addition, open communication encourages stakeholder participation. In this case, active stakeholder engagement was employed to involve stakeholders in decision-making.
For instance, the population members were asked what they would want to learn about cancer, informing the population of the educational content developed. Nursing ethics also informed the intervention since nursing ethical principles of beneficence and respect for humans. The intervention was developed to benefit the African Americans, who were asked to participate freely.
Strategies for Communicating and Collaborating with the Population to Improve Cancer Care Outcomes
As mentioned earlier, the population group of focus is African Americans. The overall goal of the intervention is to improve care outcomes for African American adults with cancer by educating them on appropriate cancer management and prevention of progression through early detection. Thus, involving them actively through communication and collaboration was vital in the intervention’s development. According to Penedo et al. (2020), gathering the patients’ input in cancer care intervention is important to ensure the intervention captures the actual needs.
Information was gathered from the population group, revealing that they know that cancer is a serious issue among them. In addition, the population members expressed interest in finding a solution to improve cancer care outcomes and thus would participate actively in the educational program. The other benefit of gathering patient information is that it enhanced an understanding of the problem from their perspective, thus informing the intervention in addressing the particular needs included in the patients’ concerns.
Communication and collaboration strategies to improve cancer care outcomes among African Americans include two-way communication, regular updates, meetings, and acknowledging stakeholder contributions. Two-way communication and regular updates promote communication since the team can give and provide feedback. According to Ueda et al. (2020), holding regular meetings with the stakeholders enhances collaboration as the team can exchange perspectives and get updates on the intervention’s progress. In addition, respecting and recognizing each stakeholder’s role in the intervention motivates the stakeholders, thus encouraging active participation.
Influence of the State Board of Nursing Practice Standards and Governmental Policies on the Intervention’s Development
Healthcare interventions addressing health concerns at the patient, family, or population levels should be developed in line with the current policies and regulations. Aligning interventions with current policies and regulations enhances the intervention’s success, acceptance and sustainability. Similarly, in this case, the population education intervention’s development was guided by the state board nursing practice standards and the governmental policies on cancer care interventions.
Research shows that all interventions to improve cancer care outcomes should be developed using the current guidelines and regulations on cancer care (Alcaraz et al., 2020). My state board nursing practice standards, scope of practice, and ethical conduct influenced the intervention. Since the board restricts nurses from practicing independently in my state, I developed the intervention under the supervision of a physician. In addition, the intervention was developed considering professional ethical conduct in the interaction between the group and the nurse, as the state board of nursing recommends.
Furthermore, the intervention development was guided by the American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines for cancer prevention. According to Rock et al. (2020), the ACS has developed guidelines for cancer prevention, including screening, diet, and physical activity. These guidelines were used to develop the population’s educational content on cancer prevention. In addition, the HIPAA governmental policies on patient information informed the intervention development by considering privacy and security safeguards when handling and sharing patient information. Using these policies and guidelines makes the intervention more likely to improve cancer care outcomes among African Americans since it employs best practices, professional practice standards and protects patient information.
Population Education Intervention in Improving Care Quality, Enhancing Patient Safety and Reducing Costs to the System and Individuals
The proposed intervention, population education, will considerably improve the quality of cancer care, enhance patient safety, and reduce costs to the system and the individuals. The intervention will provide the care providers dealing with cancer care with best practice guidelines related to new cancer technology modalities, leadership strategies, effective communication, and care coordination. Coccia (2020) notes that healthcare technology modalities enhance oncology care quality and patient safety. Therefore, the team will work together towards improving the quality of oncology care offered to the African American population. In addition, there are different patient safety issues related to cancer. These issues include medication errors, chemotherapy handling, administration, side effects, and adverse drug reactions, to mention but a few. Since the educational program will educate cancer patients and care providers on the management best practices, they will be able to prevent cancer-related patient safety issues, thus enhancing the overall patient safety in the population.
Cancer is associated with high costs to the healthcare system and the affected individuals. Alcaraz et al. (2020) note that the cancer burden is disproportionate among different populations, such as the African American population, and the related costs. The proposed intervention will encourage African Americans to take the necessary measures to prevent cancer and go for screenings, thus reducing costs related to cancer progression. In addition, costs on the system will be reduced following the use of healthcare technologies to increase care efficiency and reduce cancer cases.
Application of Technology, Care Coordination, and Community Resources in Addressing Cancer Among African Americans
According to Coccia (2020), technology has been one of the factors in improving cancer care and reducing the cancer burden across health populations. Healthcare technological modalities such as artificial intelligence, robotic surgeries and imaging technology can address the cancer issue by improving screening and diagnostics, and enhancing treatment and management of different cancer types, thus helping reduce cancer cases and improving management and patient care outcomes.
As mentioned earlier, cancer care requires the interplay of different healthcare providers to enhance outcomes. The cancer care team may include oncologists, nurses, radiologists, physicians, nutritionists, community health workers and social workers. Through care coordination, the team can effectively share information regarding patient care, thus improving care by reducing duplication of services and improving treatment plans. Addressing cancer among African Americans, therefore, requires effective care coordination.
Furthermore, community resources are instrumental in addressing cancer. Community resources in the population’s community, such as wellness centers, cancer support groups, cancer survivors organizations, and other cancer programs, can support cancer patients in appropriate cancer management (Kadambi et al., 2020). Additionally, community resources can run screening and awareness creation programs, thus reducing disease progression by early detection. They also refer cancer patients to the necessary healthcare service providers as needed.
Conclusion
The proposed intervention for addressing cancer in the African American community involves a population-focused educational intervention. Distinct populations experience the impact of the disease in varying ways. Consequently, it is crucial to examine the issue from a population-wide perspective and formulate solutions or interventions that cater to the specific attributes of the population. The proposed intervention mentioned earlier was created with careful consideration of leadership, care coordination, communication, and change management strategies. The formulation of the intervention was also influenced by nursing practice guidelines and governmental regulations, as analyzed above.
