Executive Summary
Child asthma remains one of the most common causes of death among children, which can be explained by the difficulties regarding the promotion of patient education to the target demographic. Therefore, parents or legal guardians of patients, as well as their family members, need to receive education about assisting children with asthma and supporting them. The specified task implies teaching the target population to identify threats to childrenās health and either remove or avoid them respectively. The education of family members and especially parents or guardians is a crucial step in managing childhood asthma. By promoting knowledge acquisition among parents, a nurse will create the system for identifying the threats to patientsā health and mitigating them completely, avoiding them, or contacting healthcare services as fast as possible to reduce the negative impact. Thus, a large number of asthma attacks in young children will be prevented.
The proposed measure must be based on the active usage of the Logic Model as the basis for implementing a nursing strategy. The specified approach suggests creating a framework according to which patients and their parents can perform key activities for preventing and addressing asthma attacks. Specifically, the model provides a chance for the parents to locate and utilize all available resources to alleviate the condition of their children and ensure their safety. Among the key objectives that a nurse educator will pursue in the described scenario, promotion of awareness, and agency among both patients and their families is required. Furthermore, patients and their children will need to be instructed about accessing the available resources for managing an asthma attack. The specified step incorporates preventive measures such as offering parents the access to informational resources for detailed guidelines, as well as the instructions concerning contacting nearby nursing facilities, should the need arise. Thus, imminent threats to patientsā well-being will be recognized and handled respectively.
The implementation of the plan will require the identification of the primary goals, the location of crucial objectives within these goals, the management of tasks associated with accomplishing the program, the introduction of a leadership framework, and compliance with the set deadlines. To meet these requirements, an interview with parents and family members of the target population will be conducted. Thus, one will develop an insight into the nature of the issue and locate the paths to resolving the existing dilemma. As a result, a consistently positive change is expected to happen.
Introduction
Asthma affects people of all ages, children being one of the most vulnerable groups. Defined as the swelling of airways that leads to difficulties breathing, asthma may lead to fatal outcomes unless treated accordingly (Jaimini et al., 2017). Particularly, the mechanics of asthma implies swelling caused by certain irritants, or triggers, such as pollen, or being affected by a respiratory issue (Rapp et al., 2018). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), asthma is the most common chronic disease in young children. In 2016, 6,132,000 cases of childhood asthma were registered, which made 8.3% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Since asthma may cause the permanent narrowing of a patientās airways, as well as lead to a range of complications including fatigue and impede a childās development, the problem needs to be addressed immediately (Bellin et al., 2017). By encouraging the active education of patients and the promotion of awareness, one will reduce the threat of recurrent asthma attacks among children and assist the target demographic in identifying threats to their health and managing them respectively.
Particularly, the program implies the active involvement of family members, primarily parents or legal guardians of children with asthma. The ability to identify the trigger and selecting a management plan for handling a situation that may be harmful to a child will allow patients to reduce the threat of complications or the emergence of life-threatening situations for their children with asthma (Searle, Jago, Henderson, & Turner, 2017). While parents and family members must be aware of the pathophysiology of asthma, young patients will have to be educated about the essentials of their disease in an approachable yet profound manner.
Practice Recommendation
Parents must be taught how to use the critical tools for maintaining their children’s health successfully. Specifically, a nurse must provide parents with detailed instructions about using the inhaler, as well as assist parents in teaching their children to use it. For this purpose, a combination of several types of visuals will be required (Smith, Cheater, & Bekker, 2015). The first and most obvious, a nurse must demonstrate how to use an inhaler directly to a patient and their parents (Jat & Kabra. 2017). Each of the participants will have to try using an inhaler to understand how it works and how it should be utilized (Landier et al., 2016). The next stage may involve an educational video, in which a child uses an inhaler. The specified tool should be incorporated in distanced patient education, particularly, on social media (Carpenter et al., 2016). Thus, the target population will be able to revise the information received during personal time with a nurse educator. Finally, a nurse must provide visuals that include posters that include concise instructions that cover all important issues associated with the management of asthma.
Besides, children, their parents, and family members have to learn to identify asthma-related health threats and avoid them successfully. Thus, locating the factors that may serve as possible irritants and removing them from the selected setting or avoiding the specified environment is essential for children with asthma and their family members (Searle et al., 2017). For this reason, detailed instructions about avoiding and preventing the instances of an asthma attack are a required addition to the educational program.
Finally, young patients and their family members must be provided and coupled with clear instructions about contacting the available healthcare services in case of an emergency. Because of the incidental nature of asthma and the problems associated with keeping track of all threats to childrenās health, it is critical to identify the symptoms of an asthma attack at the earliest stages of its development (Knafl et al., 2017). The specified step of educating patients and their family members will also require the use of innovative media, particularly, IT tools (Yeh, Ma, Huang, Hsueh, & Chiang, 2016). For instance, the use of smartphone apps that will help improve asthma self-management should be seen as crucial components of the awareness program (Tinschert, Jakob, Barata, Kramer, & Kowatsch, 2017). Thus, the foundation for improving the management of childhood asthma can be created.
Theoretical or Conceptual Framework (Logic Model)
To administer the necessary recommendations to patients and their parents, as well as to encourage them to acquire crucial skills regarding the management of asthma, one will require the use of the Logic Model (Cannings-John et al., 2018). Particularly, the specified tool allows planning the required activities and creating a system according to which patients and their parents will develop the necessary behaviors and skills (Cannings-John et al., 2018). The specified change in the current state of asthma management by patients and their parents will incorporate five key steps. These steps suggest determining the current extent to which the problem has affected the target community, collecting the evidence that will allow structuring the further activities, exploring the local support system, conducting the specified activities, and evaluating the outcomes (Knafl et al., 2017). As shown in Appendix A, the use of the Logic Model allows allocating the available resources effectively, as well as creating an elaborate assessment system that will inform the nurse’s further decisions regarding patient education and asthma management.
The efficacy of the program will be measured based on the expected outputs and outcomes of the measures listed above. Specifically, the program must embrace the target community of 23 patients. In the course of the program, demonstrations regarding the usage of inhalers will be provided. Afterward, patients and family members will show their ability to use inhalers with the help of demonstrations that they will perform themselves. Furthermore, 23 interviews will be carried out (one interview per family). Patients will also be provided with exhaustive information about the facilities and authorities that can support them in case they require immediate assistance. It is believed that, as a result, the rates of childhood asthma will drop significantly. Particularly, the number of asthma attacks will gradually be reduced. Thus, an increase in the levels of well-being within the selected community is the probable impact of the program.
Translational Plan
To implement the objectives listed above, one will need to arrange the key tasks and set the necessary objectives. The translation plan (TP) that will help transfer the crucial goals of the project to the realm of nursing practice will help to promote transparency and clarity within the project. Thus, the TP is required for the successful management of the essential data. The TP will incorporate the ideas of patient-nurse communication and the advocacy of patient independence as crucial components of successful education. Particularly, nurses have to teach patients to assess specific situations independently and locate the existing or emergent threats at the earliest stages possible. Thus, the instances of asthma attacks among children will be avoided.
The TP includes six key items, which are the crucial goals, the subsequent objectives, the tasks and the proposed tactics for their implementation, the leadership framework, and the deadline set for each step (see Appendix B). While the process of teaching patients and their family members the crucial aspects of managing asthma might seem to be the most complicated step, it is the communication process that will be the most challenging.
Checking the progress of patients and their families will also be a crucial stage of the project implementation. To accomplish the identified step of the plan, nurses will have to use smartphone applications that allow patients to inform nurses about their health status. Thus, the process of monitoring will remain consistent, and nurses will receive feedback that will inform their further decisions.
Conclusion
The issue of childhood asthma remains a major concern for the community, which is why it is critical to deploy the program aimed at educating not only patients but also their family members and especially parents about the use of the relevant tools. Besides, all types of media including both traditional and digital ones will have to be employed at different stages of the health promotion process. As a result, patients will gain access to all available information required for maintaining health, while nurses will be able to check on patients’ progress regularly.
References
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