Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

The Healthcare Program Or Policy Outcomes

A healthcare policy is a set of the general plan of action used to guide the desired outcomes and is a fundamental guideline to help make decisions. The purpose of the healthcare policy is to communicate to the employees about the desired result (van Weel, et al, 2016). The policy provides a framework in which decisions are made. They help standardize clinical practice, test and improve our services, and achieve greater understanding and cooperation among our staff. An example of a policy is the hand hygiene policy to reduce hospital-acquired infections. Hospital-acquired infections caused preventable illnesses and death in patients. The reason for selecting this policy is because of the increased incidences of HAIs due to poor hand washing techniques among the patients and the staff. The description of the program involves mandatory hand washing before and after handling a patient. Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

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How was the success of the program or policy measured?

The success of a program is determined by assessing the skills development of program participants, comparing the changes in behavior over time, deciding where to allocate new resources, documenting the level of success in accomplishing the objective, and demonstrating that the accountability requirements are met (Rodgers, et al, 2020). In this case, hand hygiene practice involved all patients and healthcare providers. The handwashing technique was taught by demonstrating to all patients and staff. The changes observed after are improved outcomes of the patient and reduce HAIs (Suen, et al, 2016). There was even distribution of running water and soap across all departments. In addition to that, resource-limited facilities initiated the production of alcohol-based hand rubs. The selected institutions were aware of the policy.

How many people were reached by the policy or program?

According to Ndegwa, et al, (2019), the participating hospitals included a national hospital with 1800 bed capacity, a regional referral hospital with a bed capacity of 300, and a district hospital with a 200-bed capacity. All hospitals selected three staff members from each department; nursing, pharmacy, clinical, and administrative department.

How much of an impact was realized with a program or policy selected?

Hand hygiene programs increased the compliance to handwashing among the care providers and patients before and after handling hospital equipment or other patients (Ndegwa, et al, 2019). After policy implementation, there was an improvement in patient outcomes and reduced the cases of prolonged hospitalization due to HAI. The onsite production of alcohol-based hand sanitizer rubs resulted in modest hand hygiene improvement.

At what point in program implementation was the program or policy evaluation conducted?

Evaluating improvement of the implemented hand hygiene policy involves analyzing compliance of on the focus groups before and after the intervention. The surveillance officers assessed compliance on the assigned wards at an unannounced time at least twice a week (Ndegwa, et al, 2019). The nurses, clinicians, and pharmaceutical officers were not aware of the compliance surveillance though they were aware of the hand hygiene improvement. Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

What data conducted the program or policy evaluation?

Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was used in evaluating by the use of SAS and MAXQDA. The qualitative data was from a research team that read transcripts from each focus group before coding. The research was conducted according to the standard methodology (Ndegwa, et al, 2019). Quantitative data was analysis involved evaluation of the different groups before and after the intervention, Data was collected and complied.

What specific information on unintended consequences was identified?

There was unequal resource distribution among the hospitals, leaking pumps, inconsistent filling of the mounted dispensers that lessened the impact of the program (Ndegwa, et al, 2019). Lack of sensitization of the program reduced the compliance among the patients and the support staff.

What stakeholders were identified in the evaluation of the program or policy? Who would benefit most from the results and reporting of the program policy?

The stakeholders identifying the policy included the administration, the nurses, clinicians, support staff, pharmaceutical technologists, and the patients. The main beneficiaries of the policy are the patients because they are prevented from hospital infections thus reducing suffering, hospital stay, and medical costs. The nurses and clinicians will benefit from the reduced workload in the hospital wards. The administration’s report about the policy to the public creates more awareness and hence compliance.

Did the policy or the program meet the original intent and objectives? Why or why not?

The program did not meet the expected objective fully because there was no official sensitization of the support staff. There was an unequal distribution of resources, and the staff did not have a CME program to emphasize the role of hand hygiene in preventing the transmission of infections (Ndegwa, et al, 2019).

Would you recommend implementing this program or policy in your place of work? Why or why not?

Yes, I would recommend the implementation of the policy at the place of work because it is a preventive strategy for all infections. It will reduce the incidences of hospital-acquired infections and prolonged hospitalization. Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

Identify at least two ways that you, as a nurse advocate would become involved in evaluating a program policy after 1-year implementation.

Assignment: Assessing a Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Program/policy evaluation is a valuable tool that can help strengthen the quality of programs/policies and improve outcomes for the populations they serve. Program/policy evaluation answers basic questions about program/policy effectiveness. It involves collecting and analyzing information about program/policy activities, characteristics, and outcomes. This information can be used to ultimately improve program services or policy initiatives. Nurses can play a very important role assessing program/policy evaluation for the same reasons that they can be so important to program/policy design. Nurses bring expertise and patient advocacy that can add significant insight and impact. In this Assignment, you will practice applying this expertise and insight by selecting an existing healthcare program or policy evaluation and reflecting on the criteria used to measure the effectiveness of the program/policy. To Prepare: Review the Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Analysis Template provided in the Resources. Select an existing healthcare program or policy evaluation or choose one of interest to you. Review community, state, or federal policy evaluation and reflect on the criteria used to measure the effectiveness of the program or policy described. The Assignment: (2–3 pages) Based on the program or policy evaluation you selected, complete the Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Analysis Template. Be sure to address the following: Describe the healthcare program or policy outcomes. How was the success of the program or policy measured? How many people were reached by the program or policy selected? How much of an impact was realized with the program or policy selected? At what point in program implementation was the program or policy evaluation conducted? What data was used to conduct the program or policy evaluation? What specific information on unintended consequences was identified? What stakeholders were identified in the evaluation of the program or policy? Who would benefit most from the results and reporting of the program or policy evaluation? Be specific and provide examples. Did the program or policy meet the original intent and objectives? Why or why not? Would you recommend implementing this program or policy in your place of work? Why or why not? Identify at least two ways that you, as a nurse advocate, could become involved in evaluating a program or policy after 1 year of implementation. By Day 7 of Week 10 Submit your completed healthcare program/policy evaluation analysis. Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

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Submission and Grading Information To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following: Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name. Click the Week 10 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment. Click the Week 10 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area. Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open. If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database. Click on the Submit button to complete your submission. Due to the nature of this assignment, your instructor may require more than 5 days to provide you with quality feedback. Learning Resources Required Readings Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Chapter 7, “Health Policy and Social Program Evaluation” (pp. 116–124 only) Glasgow, R. E., Lichtenstein, E., & Marcus, A. C. (2003). Why don’t we see more translation of health promotion research to practice? Rethinking the efficacy-to-effectiveness transition. American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1261–1267. Shiramizu, B., Shambaugh, V., Petrovich, H., Seto, T. B., Ho, T., Mokuau, N., & Hedges, J. R. (2016). Leading by success: Impact of a clinical and translational research infrastructure program to address health inequities. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(5), 983–991. Williams, J. K., & Anderson, C. M. (2018). Omics research ethics considerations. Nursing Outlook, 66(4), 386–393. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2018.05.003 Document: Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Template (Word document) Required Media Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Importance of Program Evaluation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Accessible player Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Peter Beilenson: Ethics and advocacy [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Accessible player Discussion: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making. A critical component of any policy design is evaluation of the results. How comfortable are you with the thought of becoming involved with such matters? Some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation. The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients; some nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as you have examined previously, who better to advocate for patients and effective programs and polices than nurses? Already patient advocates in interactions with doctors and leadership, why not with government and regulatory agencies? In this Discussion, you will reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation. To Prepare: In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making. Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation. By Day 3 of Week 9 Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper

As a nurse advocate, I would evaluate an implemented health policy by a comprehensive study of the available literature or work done. I would also analyze the statistics data science, cost impact, the survey techniques, consultation, and the focus groups.

References

Ndegwa, L., Hatfield, K. M., Sinkowitz-Cochran, R., D’Iorio, E., Gupta, N., Kimotho, J., … & Ellingson, K. (2019). Evaluation of a program to improve hand hygiene in Kenyan hospitals through production and promotion of alcohol-based Handrub–2012-2014. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 8(1), 1-6.

Rodgers, S., Wang, Z., & Schultz, J. C. (2020). A scale to measure science communication training effectiveness. Science Communication, 42(1), 90-111.

Suen, L. K., So, Z. Y., Yeung, S. K., Lo, K. Y., & Lam, S. C. (2019). Epidemiological investigation on hand hygiene knowledge and behaviour: a cross-sectional study on gender disparity. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-14.

van Weel, C., Kassai, R., Qidwai, W., Kumar, R., Bala, K., Gupta, P. P., … & Howe, A. (2016). Primary healthcare policy implementation in South Asia. BMJ global health, 1(2). Assessing a Healthcare Program Paper