Experience has proven that the patients diagnosed with hypertension do not always know the factors that influence high-blood pressure and what precautionary measures should be taken in order to avoid the increase of blood pressure. The paper reviews the related studies and suggests the combination of direct communication and modern technologies for health education of patients.
Change Model Overview
John Hopkins’ Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model is a number one guide for young nursing specialists that are going to master evidence-based nursing practice. This model describes the process of clinical decision-making in three steps that are quite easy to follow. By establishing practice questions, searching for evidence, and translating the results of their research young nursing specialists learn how to follow the most recent trends in medical science and use them in their professional activities.
Practice Question
Recruit Interprofessional Team
The research should include specialists from a wide range of medical spheres so that the knowledge and evidence came from various sources. The research team should include pediatric, ambulatory nurses, family nurse practitioner, general practitioner, physician, and hypertension specialist. These specialists may provide the research with observations that are made during their work process and communication with patients.
Develop and Refine the EBP Question
The question of the research is connected to the education of patients in the course of the medical process. It seems to be relevant since most of the patients that suffer from high blood pressure do not know what causes such state, how they should maintain the normal blood pressure, and what products and activities they should avoid. Logically, health education would help to reduce the number of risk group members. However, what may serve as evidence? Does nursing intervention aimed at educating patients help to reduce the risk of the increased blood pressure?
Define the Scope of the EBP
It is important to inform patients that they should constantly monitor the level of their blood pressure and that various factors influence the changes in their state. In their study of the effects of health education on the health status of patients, Xu et al. (2013) found that timely informing about the nature of hypertension helps to lower the cases of high blood pressure among patients (P < 0,001) (p. 146). This may concern not only pressure-related problems. Health education is important for all patients with various types of diseases.
Determine Responsibility of Team Members
Pediatric and ambulatory nurses have solid experience with all types of patients, and they have access to the extensive number of clinical records that will be useful for the review and analysis of hypertension cases in patients. General practitioner and physician, as a hypertension specialist, examine a large number of patients diagnosed with hypertension. Each patient has their complications, and each case is individual and presents an interest for the study.
Evidence
Conduct Internal/ External Search for Evidence and Appraisal of Evidence
The studies that have been reviewed for the present research are of qualitative and quantitative nature, and provide their readers with a good structured and persuasive evidence that was acquired in the course of the investigative process. They examine a wide range of problems, such as the nature of hypertension, the implementation of digital devices in the healthcare sector, barriers to healthcare delivery, the necessity of healthcare education, etc. These studies present not only literature reviews but also the empirical data that was obtained in the course of experiments and cross-sectional studies.
Summarize the Evidence
Camacho et al. (2016), Zack et al. (2016), Saksena (2010), and Xu et al. (2013) approached the problem of health education from different angles. While Zack et al. (2016) supposes that pressure-related problems arise from the barriers to the delivery of health care and suggests eliminating these problems by investigating the potential outcomes of medical education, Camacho et al. (2016) claim that hypertension and other problems connected with health directly depend on general educational level of patients. Xu et al. (2013) and Saksena (2010) approach the problem of health education in a narrower sense, stating that nurse intervention aimed at educating patients is useful and even crucial for their health, and suggesting the use of various technologies for medical education of patients.
Develop Recommendations for Change Based on Evidence
Primary care specialists should pay more attention to health education of their patients. They should inform their patients of factors that influence the increase of high blood pressure and ways to avoid it in the course of direct communication or with the help of modern technologies. Nurses may provide their patients with electronic sources where they can obtain all the necessary information concerning their health problems. Permanent health education of patients will eventually result in the reduction of a number of hypertension cases in clinical records.
Translation
Action Plan
This will be a long-term study. It will sample the patients with hypertension diagnoses. They will be divided into two groups: those that will receive the necessary health education and those that will not be informed of the hypertension risks and outcomes. After two or three months, their medical tests and clinical records will be compared. The results will be presented in comparative tables and described in detail.
Evaluating Outcomes and Reporting Outcomes
Ideally, the study will show the positive effect of health education among patients. Each of the key stakeholders will provide the study with their piece of research conducted in the course of work. The effect of health education will be measured by the comparison of medical data obtained from clinical records of patients that were diagnosed with hypertension.
Identify Next Steps
If the study proves to be effective, the plan for the medical education of patients will be developed on a larger scale, including not only those patients that are diagnosed with pressure-related diseases but a wide range of patients. This will allow for the application of the plan to health care facilities. The permanent character of health education is important for the positive outcome. Each medical consultation will include a briefing on the nature of a disease and factors that influence its progression. The medical prescription will include not only medicines list but also the sources where a patient will be able to obtain all the necessary information about their disease.
Disseminate Findings
Internally, the results of the study may be presented at a professional meeting or council of physicians. Externally, the results of the study may be published in a peer-reviewed periodical, as well as posted on internet sites, especially on the site of the facility where the study will be conducted.
Conclusion
The health education is important for positive dynamics of recovery. Hypertension is a disease that requires constant attention to patient’s health state. That is why it is crucial to inform patients how to monitor the alternations in their pressure patterns and what actions they should perform to avoid the increase of blood pressure. Various studies suggest different ways of the heightening of patient’s vigilance. Our study suggests the combination of direct communication with patients and the use of digital technologies for their education.
References
Camacho, P. A., Gomez-Arbelaez, D., Molina, D. I., Sanchez, G., Arcos, E., Narvaez, C.,… Cure, C. (2016). Social disparities explain differences in hypertension prevalence, detection and control in Colombia. Journal of Hypertension, 34(12), 2344-2352.
Saksena, A. (2010). Computer-based education for patients with hypertension: A systematic review. Health Education Journal, 69(3), 236-245.
Xu, L. J., Meng, Q., He, S. W., Yin, X. L., Tang, Z. L., Bo, H. Y., & Lan, X. Y. (2014). The effects of health education on patients with hypertension in China: A meta-analysis. Health Education Journal, 73(2), 137-149.
Zack, R. M., Irema, K., Kazonda, P., Leyna, G. H., Liu, E., Spiegelman, D.,… Danaei, G. (2016). Determinants of high blood pressure and barriers to diagnosis and treatment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Journal of Hypertension, 34(12), 2353-2364.