PICOT Question
In community clinic nursing staff, how does the introduction of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) guidelines within ten weeks affect the accuracy of diagnosing and quality of managing depression in the older population as compared to the staff’s performance before the intervention?
Governmental Agencies for EBP, QI, and Patient Safety
Governmental bodies develop sources that contain the information pertinent to evidence-based practice (EBP), quality improvement (QI), and patient safety. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2017) maintains the State, Tribal, Local & Territorial Public Health Professionals Gateway, which has a specific category of articles, resources, and educational efforts related to QI. However, CDC (2017) does not exist to review QI specifically. On the other hand, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2017a) is more specialized: it creates materials relevant to EBP and QI promotion, generates pertinent data and measures, and invests in research to support EBP and patient safety. Thus, the website of this body can be used for multiple purposes, including the search for benchmarking information, relevant articles, and grants. Moreover, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2017b) has a project termed the National Guideline Clearinghouse, which focuses on the analysis of healthcare-related guidelines geared towards EBP use, QI, and patient safety.
There exist other governmental sources as well. For instance, the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (2016) offer some information pertinent to QI and patient safety from the perspective of Medicare and Medicaid concerns. Also, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (n.d.) offers multiple sources, including PubMed. The latter is a database with a convenient search engine that includes scholarly sources, some of which are relevant to EBP, QI, and patient safety.
Overall, the government makes a notable contribution to the development of EBP, QI, and patient safety. The resources are most often freely available: some articles and books, and educational programs, may require a form of subscription or payment, but the government is interested in disseminating the information related to the three topics. Moreover, the sources are reputable and typically contain a description of the process of generating information. In summary, the sources can be used depending on their specific aims. Their employees should be encouraged through various strategies, for example, by disseminating the information about educational and grant programs to make healthcare providers aware of available opportunities.
Non-governmental Organizations for EBP, QI, and Patient Safety
Non-governmental organizations of healthcare providers often dedicate efforts to promoting EBP, QI, and patient safety. For instance, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (n.d.) organizes conferences and educational programs. Also, its website contains freely available information devoted to the three topics and presented in the form of various media (for example, presentations, videos, and publications). Similarly, the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (n.d.) has developed the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses project, which funds and conducts the work related to enhancing nursing education to support QI and patient safety. The project’s website contains multiple resources and publications (some of which are freely available) on the topics and information for nursing educators (for instance, teaching strategies). Also, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (n.d.) has a specific aim: it intends to promote QI and patient safety with respect to medication use. It offers educational programs, some of which are free, guidelines and newsletters, which are free, and some other helpful resources and tools.
There exist other sources; for example, the website of the American Nurses Association [ANA] (n.d.) contains multiple resources for nurses, including those related to EBP and QI. Moreover, ANA (n.d.) carries out conferences, which are typically focused on QI concerns. The American College of Nurse-Midwives (n.d.) also disseminates the information on the sources pertinent to QI and patient safety in women’s health. In summary, there are multiple non-governmental sources on the topics that can be used depending on their specific area of interest.
The mentioned non-governmental organizations are quite reputable, and they work to provide high-quality information by ensuring updates and specifying the sources they employ. Being non-governmental, these sources are independent, which can positively affect their quality. The multiple professional development opportunities that the organizations offer should be popularized; also, the attention of health organizations’ supervisors can be attracted to them to ensure the funding of educational efforts.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2017a). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: A profile. Web.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2017b). NGC: Help & about. Web.
American College of Nurse-Midwives. (n.d.). Patient Safety & quality improvement in women’s health care. Web.
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Conferences. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Performance management and quality improvement. Web.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2016). Quality improvement organizations. Web.
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. (n.d.). QSEN. Web.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (n.d.). About us. Web.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices. (n.d.). About ISMP. Web.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). Welcome to NCBI. Web.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2016). Depression in adults: Recognition and management. Web.