How to prepare to gather appropriate evidence
According to a report conducted by Maree, Chaturangi, Varsha, and Craig (2005), elderly stroke patients need specialized attention to help them overcome barriers to treatment for depression. Most of these elderly patients who receive treatment for stroke rarely get any help in overcoming their depression. To change this negative trend at this institution, it is necessary to conduct a further investigation to determine how these elderly clients can be offered effective help to overcome their depression. The George Institute for International Health can prepare to gather evidence by first identifying the participants for the study and articulating how to collect information from them. Individuals who will be taking part in the study may consider developing appropriate questionnaires for the study. The time and resources needed for the investigation should also be defined at this stage of preparation (Carey, 2012). The researchers should then find a way of informing the targeted participants for the study to help them be ready for the interview. After setting up all the instruments for the research, the team should then conduct research to determine how this gap in care delivery among elderly patients can be addressed.
Gathering a range of evidence
This organization will need to gather a range of evidence that will help it address the gaps in the quality of health it offers to its elderly patients. The team will need to understand factors that have made it common for elderly patients not to receive help in managing their depression. The institution should also try to understand the role of the management in addressing these gaps. Finally, it is necessary to propose necessary steps that can be used to eliminate the gaps identified.
Possible proposed changes to current practice
Based on the evidence gathered, some of the proposed changes to the current practice might be a mandatory depression test for all the elderly patients who are recovering from a stroke. The institution should make it compulsory to test if these patients have any form of depression instead of waiting for the patients themselves to complain of depression. If it is established that the patient is suffering from depression, measures should be taken to find a way of addressing the problem.
Examples of possible tension between evidence-based practice and client want
It is important to appreciate that tension might exist between client wants and evidence-based practice. According to Bhalla and Birns (2015), evidence-based practice often relies on the outcome of research conducted on a group of patients. However, patients’ needs are sometimes very unique, and trying to generalize about certain factors may give rise to tension within a healthcare institution. For instance, using a certain universal approach to address depression may work for some patients and not for others. Similarly, using a universal way to diagnose depression among patients may not always yield the desired outcome. If possible, each patient should often be treated as a unique case.
What to include in the implementation plan
When developing an implementation plan for the proposed changes, the staff needs to include the new methods for diagnosing depression among the patient and how these elderly patients should be handled to ensure that their emotional and psychological issues are identified in time and addressed as soon as possible. The staff should also be armed with information on how to actively engage the patients when trying to find specialized attention for each patient.
How the staff can secure informed consent from clients
It is necessary to secure informed consent from clients when planning to implement the new caregiving strategies. However, sometimes the consent has to be obtained from people who have little or no speech. To get consent from such people, the team of caregivers will need to use assistive technologies to communicate with the patients. It may require the use of audiovisual technologies to help the patient get the exact message and give a clear response as to whether they give the consent or not.
How staff can conduct an evaluation of changed practice
The staff can evaluate the changed practice in a number of ways. One of the ways may be to interview the patients to establish the difference in their experience following the implementation of the new strategies. The patients may be requested to compare their experience at this institution before and after the introduction of the new strategies. Another approach may be to compare the patients’ recovery rate before and after the introduction of the new strategies.
How to report findings of the changed practice
To ensure that there is an effective reporting of the findings of the changed practice, the team should make close comparisons between the performance in caregiving before and after the new practice. Using graphs, charts, and other figures may help in closely comparing the past and present performance following the introduction of the new strategies.
How the staff can integrate and maintain change in practice
The staff should be keen to identify areas of change that have a positive impact on their patients. As Godefroy (2013) notes, not all changes may have a positive impact on the patients. The staff should identify the specific changes which have the desired impact on the patient and include them in their practice. Such changes should redefine their approach in delivering care to their patients.
References
Bhalla, A., & Birns, J. (2015). Management of post-stroke complications. New York, NY: Cengage.
Carey, L. M. (2012). Stroke rehabilitation: Insights from neuroscience and imaging. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Godefroy, O. (2013). The behavioral and cognitive neurology of stroke. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Maree, H., Chaturangi, Y., Varsha, P., & Craig, A. (2005). Frequency of Depression after Stroke: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. American Stroke Association, 36(6):1330-40.