Question Evaluation of Outcomes “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” —Milton Friedman How do you measure the success of a translation project to determine if new practice approaches actually make a difference? Evaluating the results or outcomes of the translation of evidence into practice is the key. Only by evaluating the outcomes can you ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of your new practice approaches. During Week 9, you outlined desired outcomes for the issue you have been addressing through your EBP Assignment. In the Discussion, you suggested changes at the micro and/or macro systems level to improve quality outcomes.

Evaluation of Outcomes

Regarding the discussed outcomes, it was clear that patient safety and quality of care stood out as the key outcomes. Other outcomes include; reduced discrimination of mental health patients, cultural competence, and government intervention in the facilitation of cultural competence in mental health patients.
The evaluation of outcomes is a vital concept that ensues after policy implementation. In a contemporary healthcare facility, the outcomes must be evaluated to measure the effectiveness of new practice approaches. As a nurse leader, I would employ a known outcome evaluation strategy called the structure-process-outcome (SPO) framework (White et al., 2021). The framework contained standard criteria, with which existing measures for quality assessment had to e met by existing outcomes. One was that the outcome should provide a complete, evidence-based model of the proposed intervention of interest also, that the intervention of interest should influence the outcomes. Lastly, the consideration and inclusion of sensitive measures to change with the subsequent continuation of evaluation of care would be vital. (Wang et al., 2017).
Practice guidelines are essential, especially after the evaluation of outcomes. New practice guidelines that would fit appropriately in this context would include; care improvement policies, integration of some cultural beliefs in the treatment process of mental health patients, constant evaluation and monitoring of patient health, and patient-centered care approaches. These guidelines aim to improve the quality of care provided to patients while also, subsequently, reducing the recovery process and the recovery time (Einarson et al., 2015).
Standards of care are essential as they set base guidelines of operation within a healthcare facility. With depression as a core symptom in mental health patients, often caused by discrimination, I would recommend therapy for patients within my healthcare facility. Therapy is vital, and I would also prefer to involve a counsellor or psychiatrist in the process (Abdullah et al., 2014). These professionals will play an active role in helping the patient achieve mental stability faster, reducing the recovery time while subsequently improving the quality of care provided. Another standard of care would be to engage patients in physical activities to act as distractions from the normal hospital settings. Physical activities would also boost their brain health and improve their mood and reduce stress or depression levels (Kirmayer et al., 2017).
I would also recommend several entertainment options for mental health patients, especially content that would boost their moods over time to eradicate any aspects of boredom, which often causes mental health patients to have suicidal thoughts. Therefore, I would focus on distraction techniques that would have an overall advantage on the quality of care provided to patients.

 

References
Abdullah, G., Rossy, D., Ploeg, J., Davies, B., Higuchi, K., Sikora, L., & Stacey, D. (2014). Measuring the effectiveness of mentoring as a knowledge t…
Einarson, A., Egberts, T.c., & Heerdink, E.R. (2015). Antidepressant use in pregnancy: knowledge transfer and translation of research findings. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21, 579-583 doi:10.1111/jep.1233
White, K. M., Dudley-Brown, S. & Terhaar, M.F. (2021). Translation of evidence into nursing and health care practice (3rd ed.) Springer. • Chapter 11, “Data Management and Evaluation of Translation”
Wang, Y., Xiao, L.D., Ullah, S., Guo-Ping, H., & De Bellis, A. Evaluation of a nurse-led dementia education and knowledge translation programme in primary care: A cluster randomized controlled trial (2017). Nurse Education Today, 49, 1-7.
White, K. M., Dudley-Brown, S. & Terhaar, M.F. (2021). Translation of evidence into nursing and health care practice (3rd ed.) Springer. • Chapter 11, “Data Management and Evaluation of Translation”

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