Respond to these 2 discussion posts. APA only required for references.
Here are the guidelines for responding: must be approximately 125 words unless otherwise specified. Responses to classmates should either add to their original
thinking, ask a probing question, or highlight another source of the literature that adds to the depth and breadth of the discussion. Each response needs a reference.
POST 1:
What prevention services would you recommend for this patient?
This patient is at high risk for worsening arthritis, cardiac disease, and diabetes. A preventative service that I would recommend is counseling on lifestyle modifications. This includes eating well-balanced meals, limiting process sugar intake, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress, getting enough sleep, exercising at least 30 minutes 5 times a day, limiting alcohol consumption, and eliminating tobacco use. If her work involves repetitive motions, I would recommend she take frequent breaks.
I would also recommend physical therapy for her joint pain that limits her neck range of motion that is affecting her driving. Another preventative service I would recommend is seeing an occupational therapist to help her manage her pain during her daily activities. I would also recommend seeing a dietitian to address her weight loss and muscle wasting.
I would encourage her to routinely take her blood pressure and follow up with her cardiologist since she has a pacemaker and an increased risk for heart disease. Lastly, if she has not been diagnosed with arthritis, I would refer her to a rheumatologist because early detection of arthritis is key to managing and controlling complications (Arthritis Foundation, n.d.; Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021).
How might statistical reports on the incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality be helpful in planning a prevention program?
Statistical reports on incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality encompass the field of epidemiology. Epidemiologists use this data to predict disease prevalence among groups and health outcomes (Hernandez, 2021).
The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (n.d.) published guidelines for developing a prevention program. Although these guidelines are directed toward preventing trauma, any field can follow these basic guidelines.
The guideline includes gathering and analyzing data, selecting targeted populations, determining what needs intervention, developing an action plan, identifying community agencies that can help, and implementing the program. Statistical information can help identify health disparities.
Moreover, statistical information can decipher targeted populations with increased prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. This information is vital for developing a prevention program.
What role would evidence-based practice and clinical practice guidelines play in this prevention plan development?
When developing a prevention program, you want to ensure that you are following evidence-based practice and clinical guidelines.
According to the University of Canberra (2021), evidence-based practice aims at improving patient outcomes by integrating the best research with clinical reasoning to help formulate decision-making.
You want to follow evidence-based practice and clinical practice guidelines to ensure that preventative practice is helping and not detrimental or wasting resources.
Provide an example of any evidence-based guideline used in your workplace for any aspect of patient care.
An evidence-based guideline used at my workplace is administering penicillin to GBS-positive women in labor to help prevent GBS sepsis in the newborn baby. Prevention begins with screening for GBS at 36-37 weeks gestation. At the onset of labor or rupture of membranes, GBS-positive women receive penicillin or ampicillin every four hours until delivery.
For women who undergo planned cesarean birth, but begin labor before the scheduled surgery, one dose of cefazolin is appropriate for prophylactically preventing GBS sepsis in newborns. The only exception to prophylactic antibiotics for GBS-positive women is planned cesarean delivery.
However, one dose of prophylactic antibiotics is still recommended for cesarean delivery to reduce the risk of postoperative infection (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology, 2020).
POST 2:
What prevention services would you recommend for this patient?
So far, it seems the patient has cardiovascular issues, arthritis, an eating disorder, and emotional concerns. For this patient, I would recommend a healthier lifestyle that includes a proper diet, exercise, and a referral to a rheumatologist for her joint pains. In her early stages, the patient has already begun to feel the effects of her lifestyle; our goal is to prevent worsening of symptoms and improve her life.
We can do this through education, a primary prevention method, and secondary prevention methods such as follow up exams, dietary changes, and exercise regimens. Since the patient has a significant family history for ailments, we will implement screenings for further cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Additionally, we’ll need to reexamine her work schedule, and create a plan to lessen the load to decrease stress. It seems that the patient also needs to be taken care of emotionally, as she is expressing her concerns to me.
I would offer her a listening ear in addition to recommending a behavioral counselor to promote a healthier diet and physical activity since she is at risk for cardiovascular disease sue to her lifestyle (USPSTF, 2020).
How might statistical reports on the incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality be helpful in planning a prevention program?
Statistical reports are helpful because it shows the patient that there are other people who share her struggles and have found ways to overcome. According to Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 61% of individuals over 18 diagnosed with arthritis received counseling for physical activity or exercise (n.d.).
Another goal from Healthy People 2030 is to encourage healthy eating while increasing accessibility to nutritious foods. By gathering reports on data such as this, we can tailor a care plan for this patient to improve her quality of life. I believe statistical reports are helpful because they show the reality of diseases, and the consequences of being lackadaisical in health.
Since the patient is also expressing her need to fill hungry mouths, I would educate her on this shocking but real financial statistic: “In people with an eating disorder, quality of life is reduced, yearly healthcare costs are 48% higher than in the general population, the presence of mental health comorbidity is associated with 48% lower yearly earnings, the number of offspring is reduced, and risks for adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes are increased” (van Hoeken & Hoeck, 2020).
What role would evidence-based practice and clinical practice guidelines play in this prevention plan development?
Evidence-based practice would support the need for preventative services and guide my decision making. Clinical practice guidelines are the algorithms that I will use to determine how I solve certain problems.
Combined, “They are based on the expertise of the individual practitioner integrated with the best clinical evidence from systematic review of credible research studies” (Norris, 2019). I would employ the use of data and objectives from Healthy People 2030 as a evidence for guidance, and formulate a prevention plan accordingly.
Provide an example of any evidence-based guideline used in your workplace for any aspect of patient care.
An example of an evidence-based guideline used in my workplace is the American Heart Association’s Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocol for an adult cardiac arrest. There is an algorithm that we adhere to that has been backed by evidence, and it is posted on the top of all our crash carts. In our workplace, it is expected that we know this algorithm thoroughly. A retrospective review showed that “higher numbers of deviations from ACLS guidelines were associated with a lower likelihood of ROSC and survival to hospital discharge” (Honarmand et al., 2018). Therefore, it is best practice to follow the ACLS guidelines during a cardiac arrest.
