Introduction
Initiating an intervention always requires a solid implementation plan in order to successfully achieve the goals and objective of the research. Chronic heart failure (CHF) is one of the major causes of death in the US and the rest of the world, thus deserving the attention and additional studying time by the medical community (Ziaeian & Fonarow, 2016). According to Sharp, Peters, and Howard (2017), the implementation phase for the project will consist of the following steps:
- Flow process description;
- Time frame of the project;
- Estimated personnel and material needs;
- Estimated budgetary needs.
- Resources and statistical tools.
These steps would be elaborated on in the following sections of the implementation stage proposal.
Flow Process and Time Frame
According to Sharp et al. (2017), the flow chart for the process would involve the following steps:
- Recruiting and training nurses to participate in the research. Estimated time: Up to 30 days.
- Finding and selecting the individuals to participate in test and control groups for the project. All patients would need to be at least 45 years old and be diagnosed and hospitalized with CHF. Estimated time: Up to 30 days.
- Implementing the intervention, stage 1. During this stage, the test group would be provided with information on the management of CHF, which would include classes, literature, practical education, and other relevant procedures. The control group would undergo standard CHF-related procedures. Estimated time: 30 days.
- Implementing the intervention, stage 2. After the patients have been released from hospitalization, nurses will call them on a bi-weekly basis in order to survey their progress and provide additional instruction material over the phone, if it is required. Estimated time: 60 days.
- Data dissemination and analysis. After the procedures have been completed, all data about rehospitalization rates and potential complications will be analyzed using statistical methods. Estimated time: up to 90 days.
- Results. After the information has been analyzed and conclusions have been made, it will be necessary to share the results with the broader scientific community. All of the necessary information will be put in an article form and shared with all relevant stakeholders, to be later published in a peer-reviewed journal. Estimated time: uncertain, up to a year.
The total estimated time for the project, minus the uncertain amount of time necessary to publish the article, is 240 days.
Personnel and Material Needs
The proposed intervention would require between 3 to 5 nurses, with three being the bare minimum necessary to conduct the procedures. Their responsibilities would include taking care of the patients during their hospitalization, providing them with educational means of managing CHF, and conducting follow-up surveys by phone after discharge. Additional material needs would require educational brochures, a computer with statistical software, and three telephones.
Estimated Budgetary Needs
The proposed budget for the research would cover several positions, including the following (Polonsky & Waller, 2018):
- Researcher and nurse salary. The people conducting the research would have to be compensated for their time spent on the project. Estimated amount: 50,000-100,000 dollars for the whole team.
- Software and hardware. The data would need to be processed and stored using a computer, which would then need to be destroyed to ensure patient data privacy. In addition, it would require statistical software installed in order to perform all of the necessary calculations. Estimated amount: 2,000-3,000 dollars.
- Brochures, information materials, access to electronic libraries, and other expenditures. These would be vital to the educational aspect of the intervention. While brochures are relatively inexpensive to print, access to various digital libraries would cost more. Estimated amount: up to 1,000 dollars.
- Total: 53,000-103,000 USD.
The proposed amount may change during the progress of the intervention, but the initial estimations are as presented above.
Resources and Statistical Tools
In order to conduct the intervention and assemble a brochure with various information to be useful to patients, the researchers would require access to academic literature. The information utilized must be recent and reflect the best practices in managing CHF in adult patients. As such, access to online databases such as CINAHL, Medline, and Cochrane would be required to proceed with the intervention (Sharp et al., 2017).
In addition, specialized software would need to be procured in order to analyze the data. Doing statistical analysis by hand increases the chances of mistakes and misrepresentation, thus making it necessary to procure a digital tool. One of the most popular instruments among researchers is the SPSS statistical software. It enables conducting various types of analysis, significantly streamlining and simplifying the procedure.
Conclusions
The proposed implementation plan covers the flow, time scheduling, budgetary constraints, and materials/personnel necessary for the research. The relative costs of this study are much smaller than those of direct interventions, most of the funding going to compensate the participants for their time and effort. In regards to material needs, the study could be performed using a singular computer, a printer, and several phones. Statistical software and access to digital databases cover most of those expenses.
References
Polonsky, M. J., & Waller, D. S. (2018). Designing and managing a research project: A business student’s guide. New York, NY: Sage.
Sharp, J. A., Peters, J., & Howard, K. (2017). The management of a student research project. New York, NY: Routledge.
Ziaeian, B., & Fonarow, G. C. (2016). The prevention of hospital readmissions in heart failure. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 58(4), 379-385.