Introduction
Education targeted at informing patients about the risks associated with congestive heart failure is expected to be multi-dimensional since different patients have various needs. The complexity of patients who are admitted to medical units continues increasing, which provides a challenge to nurses. The changes in patients’ profiles can be attributed to the populations living longer, the advancement of technologies, and the wider availability of information compared to previous decades.
Thus, qualitative research is necessary to determine the impact of education and training on reducing readmissions, define the role of nurses in working with patients, and identify the most effective methods of education and disease prevention. The current stage of research will be concerned with the implementation phase of the project.
Program Implementation
In order to measure the impact of patient education on the reduction of congestive heart failure readmissions, it will be necessary to perform training sessions with the involvement of their nurses. Such sessions will be standardized in timing and topics covered during them. Nurses will give out educational booklets to their patients that include comprehensive information about congestive heart failure management. The lessons should be differentiated based on topics, such as “lifestyle and dietary habits, physical activity, hobbies, leisure activities, projects and detailed resources available for patients” (Vaillant-Roussel et al., 2014, p. 4). The training sessions are considered an essential stage of program implementation because they are necessary for establishing a high level of motivation.
After the implementation of training lessons with the patients, nurses will proceed meeting up with their patients to conduct one-on-one consultations. These consultations should be targeted at discussing topics learned from the educational sessions and resolving issues that prevent patients from reaching positive health outcomes. At the end of each visit with a nurse, patients will establish their personal objectives with nurses.
For example, in regards to dietary choices, patients may choose to abstain from fried red and fatty meat (National Institutes of Health, 2019). As a week passes, the patient and his or her nurse will evaluate the results of healthy lifestyle choices. Besides, nurses will be expected to manage their own educational objectives to transfer their knowledge to patients. The professionals will have case report forms with standardized instructions to program patient education sessions and summarize each consultation through developing personal patient objectives.
After the implementation of training sessions and one-on-one consultations with nurses, patients’ feedback will be gathered to evaluate the effectiveness of education for minimizing the occurrence of congestive heart failure readmissions. In order to implement this stage of the project, it is necessary that researchers conduct interviews with patients. To do so, researchers will need to collect patient contact data, have access to computers, tablets, and smartphones to facilitate data processing and storage, as well as spend some time on analyzing the information collected with the help of interviews (Harari et al., 2017).
This means that a certain budget will be needed to support this stage of project implementation. As a start, $1,500 should be allocated for the study to ensure that scholars are given enough financial resources to use the technologies they need, purchase data analysis software, print out educational materials for patients, as well as pay for such basic needs as transportation. It is expected that researchers will submit the financial information regarding the expenditures associated with the project. If needed, the budget will be increased to ensure that all steps of the project are carried out in accordance with the plan. Such a change will be confirmed with the sponsors of the project.
Timeframe of the Project
The estimated timeframe of the project on patient education for congestive heart failure will be seven months. This time is needed to address all stages of the project, including the reporting and discussion of results. However, if the researchers identify that the project cannot be completed within the seven-month period, they will submit a request to extend the deadline. The following table includes the estimated timeline of the project, accounting for such steps as data collection, educational sessions with patients, and interviews.
Conclusion
As the main goal of the project is identifying the effectiveness of educational interventions for preventing readmissions of patients with congestive heart failure, training sessions, and one-on-one consultations with nurses represent the key stages of research. It is expected that researchers will need to use technological aids, visual materials, and educational brochures during the study. It is possible that software for thematic qualitative analysis will be purchased to reduce the time necessary for data processing and leave more time for researchers to spend on interviewing study participants.
References
Harari, G. M., Lane, N. D., Wang, R., Crosier, B. S., Campbell, A. T., & Gosling, S. D. (2016). Using smartphones to collect behavioral data in psychological science: Opportunities, practical considerations, and challenges. Perspectives on Psychological Science: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 11(6), 838–854.
National Institutes of Health. (2019). Eating red meat daily triples hear disease-related chemical. Web.
Vaillant-Roussel, H., Laporte, C., Pereira, B., Tanguy, G., Cassagnes, J., Ruivard, M., … Vorilhon, P. (2014). Patient education in chronic heart failure in primary care (ETIC) and its impact on patient quality of life: Design of a cluster randomized trial. BMC Family Practice, 15, 208.