Nurse Theory
The safety of medical and healthcare professionals depends on various factors, and the idea of a combined intervention with education, training, and safety protocols is a sound solution for modern facilities. There are many changes and nursing theories to be implemented for achieving the goal of detecting infectious diseases, and Dorothea Orem’s self-deficit theory is one of the available options. Hellqvist (2021) proves the usefulness of Orem’s approach in guiding nurses in their work to enhance self-management support, interactions, and engagement in care processes. Its fundamental idea is rather simple and concentrates on the necessity to change a nursing care approach concerning a specific situation. The principles include self-reliance, interaction, risk prevention, promoting self-care behaviors, and understanding a socio-cultural context (Khademian et al., 2020). Nurses, as the direct participants of health care, should meet their self-care needs as well as the needs of their patients within the physical, social, biological, and cultural environments and reflect on their experiences. In other words, if patients obtain enough education from nurses, all stakeholders can follow the offered practices and use equipment to prevent complications and improve well-being.
Implementation Plan with Outcome Measures
There are five steps to implement change based on Orem’s nurse theory. The success of the intervention directly depends on the supportive educational system that nurses provide to their patients (Kusnanto et al., 2018). First, it is necessary to offer a guide according to which people organize their activities and encourage each other to achieve the best results. The second step to consider is self-care management support that creates a solid background for any intervention. Nurses have an appropriate level of medical knowledge and share their experiences with others (Hellqvist, 2021). The third task for nurses is to become an example for patients and their families. It is not enough to give recommendations or define treatment options but to vividly demonstrate how to behave. In this case, test-taking, social distance, wearing special clothing, and following the hygiene rules are offered. Then, creating an environment for personal and professional development is encouraged. Finally, continuing education is not a recommendation but an obligation for nurses and a positive patient outcome.
The expected outcome measures cover nurse and patient awareness levels, the number of available training materials, and the prevalence of infectious diseases in a region. The increase of correct answers about preventive interventions after the intervention should be reported by nurses and patients. The assessment of facility equipment and clear instructions meet the required minimum. A safe environment should be examined in terms of infectious disease spreading, health complications, and cooperation between healthcare practitioners and patients.
Evidence-Based Practice and Change
The offered intervention plan is not just a collection of unique ideas and subjective opinions but the evaluation of evidence-based practice. For example, Kusnanto et al. (2018) used Orem’s theory to improve self-care activities and the quality of life in patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. This condition is characterized by changes in the immune system that provoke fever, pain, fatigue, and skin rash, and the necessity to enhance self-care and patient education (Kusnanto et al., 2018). Following the standards and attention to the quality of life improve an individual’s recovery capacity. Khademian et al. (2020) underline the worth of self-care education to maintain positive treatment results in patients with hypertension and demonstrate how to deal with self-care requisites. In Hellqvist’s study (2021), patients affected by long-term conditions benefit from self-care theory and nursing support for independent self-care. All these projects indicate the benefits of Orem’s approach to identifying patients’ and nurses’ needs for self-care.
Evaluation Plan
The evaluation plan for the proposed intervention is related to the outcome measures. Three main aspects should be thoroughly examined in a post-intervention period, including the participants’ knowledge, disease prevalence, and the number of techniques and equipment available for preventing purposes. The first step of the plan is to determine what nurses and patients know about infectious disease prevention before the intervention and compare it with the results after the implementation. It is expected to observe the increase in the right answers and the reaction to the questions. The second element is the observation of the diseases provoked by limited equipment and poorly understood safety protocols. The number of infectious diseases should be minimized and compared to the pre-pandemic years. Finally, the assessment of the currently working protocols and guidelines and the distribution of the material for nurses and patients.
Potential Barriers and Solutions
The main intervention barriers that could be identified in this intervention idea are related to participants and their personal qualities. Nurses should possess solid medical knowledge and understand how to share it with other participants (Hellqvist, 2021). The solution is to manage pre-assessment sessions and train nurses for better cooperation and experience exchange. Another challenge is time management and the necessity to educate before direct patient-nurse communication. The problems could be based on language differences, willingness to cooperate, and mental disorders that affect data perception (Khademian et al., 2020). Brief written check-ups and questionnaires might be effective for defining the boundaries. Oral and written approaches to sharing information and explaining the goals and outcomes of the intervention based on Orem’s theory will facilitate the care process and promote patients’ and nurses’ well-being.
References
Hellqvist, C. (2021). Promoting self-care in nursing encounters with persons affected by long-term conditions – A proposed model to guide clinical care. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5).
Khademian, Z., Ara, F. K., & Gholamzadeh, S. (2020). The effect of self care education based on orem’s nursing theory on quality of life and self-efficacy in patients with hypertension: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 8(2), 140-149.
Kusnanto, K., Sari, N. P. W. P., Harmayetty, H., Efendi, F., & Gunawan, J. (2018). Self-care model application to improve self-care agency, self-care activities, and quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Journal of Taibah University medical sciences, 13(5), 472-478.