Quality Improvement, Evidence-Based Practice, and Research Paper

Quality Improvement, Evidence-Based Practice, and Research Paper

Quality Improvement, Evidence-Based Practice, and Research Paper

Regardless of their health problems, patients deserve timely and quality care. As a result, health care professionals should be committed to improving care to ensure that patients’ needs are addressed appropriately. While serving patients, health care professionals encounter problems that hamper patient care, workplace relationships, and staff well-being, among other adverse outcomes. Due to their far-reaching effects, such problems require an evidence-based approach to ensure that they are comprehensively addressed. Health care professionals should also develop new knowledge and engage in such programs. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast quality improvement (QI), evidence-based approach (EBP), and research, provide examples, and explain why they would be applied in a health care setting.

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Comparing and Contrasting QI, EBP, and Research

Organizations usually experience gaps between the current and desired care quality in health care delivery. The gap implies that patients do not receive adequate and satisfactory care, and issues such as readmissions, extended hospital stays, and high health costs are typical. QI represents the systematic process of monitoring, assessing, and improving care quality standards (Backhouse & Ogunlayi, 2020). The primary goal is to standardize processes to reduce variation between the provided and desired care. Reducing variation leads to a proportional improvement in patient outcomes. Health care organizations use different quality models to achieve different outcomes. A suitable example is the lean quality model, which adds value to processes and procedures by driving waste (Sharma & Khatri, 2021). Such waste includes delays in patient verification, admission, or access to health records.

EBP is among the dominant approaches to addressing health care problems. Li et al. (2019) defined EBP as a health care approach seeking to improve health care by utilizing the most current research. Change proponents usually apply the EBP approach to collect, process, and implement research findings in change projects. According to Chien (2019), EBP has three main components: best available evidence from scientific research, clinical expertise, and patient values. The components are equally important and are integrated to optimize care outcomes. Research for EBP is obtained from previously conducted studies.

Research denotes developing new knowledge. It is the systematic investigation, testing, and evaluation of results to develop generalizable knowledge (Chien, 2019). Before engaging in health research, health care professionals evaluate health problems, impacts, and available interventions. If the current interventions are ineffective, health researchers conduct new treatments or behavioral interventions and publish the findings for use in the general practice.

QI, EBP, and research vary in their approach, albeit focusing on bettering health care processes and outcomes. QI and EBP depend on the available knowledge, while research seeks to develop new knowledge (Chien, 2019). QI and EBP projects can be conducted within a short time, while research is a tedious, engaging activity that usually takes a lot of time. QI can be achieved without scientific evidence, while EBP must incorporate current, scientific evidence. Despite these differences, QI, EBP, and research focus on achieving better patient care as time advances. They help improve methods and address practice problems to ensure patients are served adequately, competently, and satisfactorily.

Examples of Quality Improvement, Evidence-Based Practice, and Research

Health care organizations can improve care quality by improving patient safety, embracing interprofessional collaboration, and improving access to care, among other result-oriented activities. A suitable example of QI focusing on patient safety is integrating technology into care processes to reduce medication-related adverse events. For instance, barcode scanning can help to confirm drugs to prevent medication administration errors (Thompson et al., 2018). Storage in electronic cabinets can prevent drug confusion. Avoiding or minimizing such errors leads to a proportional decline in health complications, extended hospital stays, and patient deaths. Patients’ trust in care providers also improves, leading to a better patient-provider relationship.

An example of EBP is an EBP project to reduce workplace incivility. The first process would involve evaluating the causes, manifestations, and effects of workplace incivility among nurses. Typical outcomes include workplace stress, fatigue, poor mental and emotional well-being, and low motivation (Zhang et al., 2018). Next, the change leader seeking to address this problem would evaluate current research and identify evidence-based interventions to address workplace incivility. Such interventions include implementing zero-tolerance policies and cognitive rehearsal to prepare nurses to deal with workplace incivility. The evidence-based interventions would then guide practice change in an organization through cognitive rehearsal training or adopting zero-tolerance policies as part of organizational culture.

Recent developments to control the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate what health research entails. It is primarily about seeking new treatments or control strategies for current or emerging health problems. Many people were mentally, physically, and socially affected when the pandemic emerged. Massive deaths were witnessed since there were no control or treatment mechanisms. In response, health researchers collected swabs from the victims and evaluated their particulars, particularly the transmission mode. Physical distancing and the use of face masks were recommended to minimize person-to-person infections (Chu et al., 2020). The in-depth analysis of the swabs and lab tests guided health researchers in developing vaccines to protect current and future populations.

Importance of QI, EBP, and Research in a Health Care Setting

Health care settings should embrace QI as a standard practice. They should strive to reduce variations in care quality as much as possible. Since QI helps to standardize processes and reduce variations, health care organizations benefit through increased efficiency and output (Backhouse & Ogunlayi, 2020). For instance, reducing waiting time ensures that patients are served more promptly hence high satisfaction. Health complications and increased workload are also prevented by reducing waiting time. QI also helps health care settings to enhance patient safety and patient-provider trust. As a result, patients visit the health care setting for future services and refer their family and friends. Incremental patient visits increase the organization’s revenue.

EBP is the foundation of better patient outcomes. According to Chien (2019), EBP is crucial in health care settings since it facilitates delivering the most effective care while improving patient outcomes. It also enables the staff to work more productively using evidence-based approaches to improve their attitudes and overall well-being. For instance, mindfulness and resilience are suitable strategies to overcome nurse burnout (Slatyer et al., 2018). Nurses assess how such practices are applied in other settings and emulate them to improve their well-being. The eventual physical and mental stability enables nurses to care for patients readily, better, and holistically. Embracing EBP also allows nurses to consider patient values and preferences when developing treatment plans. Doing so leads to culturally-competent care, which is instrumental in increasing patient satisfaction and trust in caregivers.

A health care setting would apply research to advance practice, stay current, and provide better patient care. Through research, health care providers discover new knowledge, which is integral in ensuring that patient care meets the present century’s demands. The knowledge also ensures that treatment plans are not biased since they are based on evidence and not on nurses’ opinions. Duff et al. (2020) described health research as a leading driver of evidence-based treatment. Research through behavioral studies, randomized-controlled trials, and clinical trials provides patients with multiple treatments and care options. It ensures that processes are current and evidence-based.

Conclusion

QI, EBP, and research are common concepts in health practice. As described in this paper, the primary purpose of QI is to reduce variations between the current and desired patient care. EBP implies integrating scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values and preferences for better health outcomes. Research develops new knowledge to guide QI and EBP. Health care organizations seeking to improve outcomes should embrace these concepts and commit the necessary resources to benefit maximally.

References

Backhouse, A., & Ogunlayi, F. (2020). Quality improvement into practice. BMJ, 368. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m865

Chien, L. Y. (2019). Evidence-based practice and nursing research. The Journal of Nursing Research: JNR, 27(4), e29. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000346

Chu, D. K., Akl, E. A., Duda, S., Solo, K., Yaacoub, S., Schünemann, H. J., … & Reinap, M. (2020). Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The lancet, 395(10242), 1973-1987. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31142-9

Duff, J., Cullen, L., Hanrahan, K., & Steelman, V. (2020). Determinants of an evidence-based practice environment: An interpretive description. Implementation Science Communications, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-020-00070-0

Li, S., Cao, M., & Zhu, X. (2019). Evidence-based practice: Knowledge, attitudes, implementation, facilitators, and barriers among community nurses-systematic review. Medicine, 98(39), e17209. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000017209

Sharma, S. S., & Khatri, R. (2021). Introduction to lean waste and lean tools. Lean Manufacturing, 29. DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.97573

Slatyer, S., Craigie, M., Rees, C., Davis, S., Dolan, T., & Hegney, D. (2018). Nurse experience of participation in a mindfulness-based self-care and resiliency intervention. Mindfulness, 9(2), 610-617. DOI: 10.1007/s12671-017-0802-2

Thompson, K. M., Swanson, K. M., Cox, D. L., Kirchner, R. B., Russell, J. J., Wermers, R. A., … & Naessens, J. M. (2018). Implementation of bar-code medication administration to reduce patient harm. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, 2(4), 342-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2018.09.001

Zhang, S., Ma, C., Meng, D., Shi, Y., Xie, F., Wang, J., Dong, X., Liu, J., Cang, S., & Sun, T. (2018). Impact of workplace incivility in hospitals on the work ability, career expectations and job performance of Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open, 8(12), e021874. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021874

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Assessment Description
The purpose of this assignment is to differentiate quality improvement (QI), evidence-based practice (EBP), and research.
Write a 1200-1300 word essay differentiating quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and research. Include the following information in your essay:
1. Compare and contrast quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and research. Identify at least one similarity and difference for each.
2. Provide an example of quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and research.
3. Explain why quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and research would be applied in a health care setting.
4. This assignment requires a minimum of four peer-reviewed scholarly sources.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guideline