Week 7 Assignment  Benchmark – Evidence-Based Practice Proposal Final Paper

Week 7 Assignment  Benchmark – Evidence-Based Practice Proposal Final Paper

Section C: Solution Description

Nurses and other healthcare providers have an essential role to play in developing effective solutions to address the health problems facing their populations. Nurses utilize the existing sources of evidence to implement best practices in nursing care. The use of best practices promotes the realization of outcomes of care that include safety, efficiency, performance and quality. Therefore, this essay examines the solution of the proposed product by focusing on aspects such as organizational culture, expected outcomes, method to achieve outcomes and outcome impact.

Proposed Solution

The proposed solution entails the provision of health education on dietary calcium and vitamin D to African American patients with osteoporosis. The aim of the project is to reduce the incidence of fractures within 12 months. The proposed solution aligns with the existing evidence. According to evidence, health education on the intake of dietary calcium and vitamin D is effective in improving the health outcomes of patients with osteoporosis. For example, the study by Park et al. (2017) showed that the provision of educational opportunities on dietary calcium and vitamin D intake resulted in the improvement in the osteoporosis knowledge, self-efficacy and fall self-efficacy. The improvement in these parameters reflected the reduction in adverse events affecting patients with osteoporosis such as fractures. Similar results can be seen in the systematic review by Morfeld et al. (2017) where health education on the dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D were associated with increased level of knowledge, improvement in bone mineral density and the adoption of healthy behaviors such as adherence to the prescribed treatment interventions. According to Holland and Moffat (2017), health education on the dietary and behavioral modifications for patients with osteoporosis increases the level of patient engagement in health promotional activities and perceptions towards the management of osteoporosis. Therefore, the proposed solution aligns with the existing evidence. The intervention is realistic in our setting because it does not require a significant use of the organizational resources. The healthcare providers are also trained to provide patient-centered education on the management of different health problems, including osteoporosis.

Organizational Culture

The proposed solution aligns with the organizational culture. Firstly, it supports the provision of high quality and safe care to patients with osteoporosis. Health education on calcium and vitamin D intake will increase the level of patient awareness about the management of their health problems, hence, positive outcomes, safety and quality of care. The solution also strengthens the use of best practices in the management of osteoporosis. The use of health education seeks to promote lifestyle and behavioral change using evidence-based practice interventions. Our hospital advocates the use of best practices in the provision of healthcare. As a result, the proposed solution underpins the realization of this objective.

Expected Outcomes

One of the expected outcomes of the project is the positive change in the habits and behaviors of the African American women with osteoporosis. It is anticipated that health education on the importance of dietary calcium and vitamin D will increase the level of awareness and behaviors of the patients for improved health outcomes. The other expected outcome is the reduction in the rate and risk of fractures in African American women with osteoporosis (Park et al., 2017). The reduction will be attributed to increased intake of dietary calcium, vitamin D and adoption of behaviors and lifestyles that minimize their risk to falls and other adverse events.

Method to Achieve Outcomes

African American patients with osteoporosis will be obtained from the emergency department. The prospective participants will be informed about the project and willingness to participate. The patients will provide informed consent prior to their participation. Trained registered nurses will be involved in the implementation of the project. The nurses will be trained on the aspects that are critical for the success of the project. The training will equip them with the desired competencies for the successful implementation of the project. Patients who consent will be provided with weekly educational sessions on dietary calcium and vitamin D on preventing falls among them. The weekly sessions will be done for a period of three weeks after which patients will be followed on a monthly basis to determine their risk of fractures, adherence, and number of fractures experiences. The data will be obtained at the end of the program to compare the rates of fractur