Healthcare programs are instrumental in improving the quality of life, preventing diseases, and managing chronic complications. In the capacity of a nurse, my role is not limited to bedside nursing but encompasses active involvement in health care programming. For this interview, I will address one of the healthcare programs related to my practice that is retailed at its costs and affects a target population with nurses involved in multiple aspects, from design through advocacy.
Healthcare Program Overview
My program is a Community-Based Diabetes Management Program. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic disorders for which individuals have to receive care and management throughout their lives. The program tries to inform the community about diabetes management methods, healthy living support, medication compliance, and tracking of blood glucose concentrations. The project’s estimated cost is approximately $ 200,000 a year for personnel salaries, educational materials, and medical supplies. The envisioned results are reduced patient readmission rates due to diabetic complications, better glycemic control in participants and im, and improved self – self–managementof the Population.
The Population we intend to study is over the age of 40 years, residing in a semi–urban area with high incidence rates for type 2 diabetes. The demographic is selected because of their increased risk for complications and frequently limited access to health care resources.
Role of the Nurse in Program Design
As a nurse, I am part of the input for program design. My roles include identifying needs within the target population, providing educational content, and organization responsibility. For example, I worked with a group of individuals to create a culturally specific curriculum that addresses this community’s unique nutritional and behavioral practices. This implied the study of traditional diets, standard practices, and dominant beliefs among local communities for adapting educational information to specific needs. A second important illustration of my involvement in program development is the technological barriers encountered by our target population. Acknowledging that most of our Population was severely limited by either needing access to or having little experience with digital health resources, I fought for and played a part in creating readily available mobile applications. These tools were created to monitor health parameters such as blood glucose concentrations and medication compliance (Flaubert et al., 2021). The provision of basic interfaces and user-friendly directions ensured that our digital health programs were available to anyone, regardless of one’s level of IT expertise. This was also essential in eliminating the digital divide and increasing the efficiency of our diabetes management program.
Advocacy and Design Input
In supporting my target population, I ensure that the needs and voices of these individuals are at the center of designing a program. This involves promoting language-specific materials and ensuring access for persons with disabilities (Elena, 2021). Second, I highlight the significance of integrating mental health services, realizing that chronic condition management has a positive psychological effect. My work also involves community collaborations that provide extensive support and resources more than our program can. Through regular meetings of the program development team, my contribution towards design decisions is enabled by sharing observations from direct patient care.
Nurse’s Role in Implementation
During the implementation phase, there is a switch from planning to action for the nurse. Here, I hold educational lectures, lead support groups, and manage the tracking of patients’ progress. Further, I am actively adapting the program according to real-time feedback and putting this adaptation into practice. I also coordinate with other health professionals to ensure a unified approach to treating the patients, which improves the impacts of such programs. This position differs from the planning phase, which focuses on strategic thinking and a hands-on approach to guaranteeing success (Busca et al., 2021).
Differences between Design and Implementation Roles
In the design phase, my role is more advisory: research and joint planning. In contrast, the delivery phase is highly dynamic and involves direct patient engagement and recurring program performance assessment. For example, although I contributed to the curriculum design during the pre-implementation phase, as a teacher in the implementation stage, I am teaching and adjusting content according to participant feedback.
Key Members of the Healthcare Team
Primary Care Physicians: However, these professionals play a crucial role by identifying and referring patients who would benefit from such programs to ensure that those needing targeted help get it. In addition, they offer continuous medical supervision and alignment of the program with each patient’s general health plan.
Dietitians: Nutrition forms the basis for managing diabetes, and dietitians provide specialized expertise in this area. They collaborate with patients in planning personalized diet schedules that allow for controlling the amounts of sugar intake, which directly affects program effectiveness (Rahayu et al., 2021).
Social Workers: Social workers focus on the broader social issues of health and well-being whose central impact diabetes is managed. These efforts help patients go through difficult circumstances, such as housing instability or financial issues, to limit external factors impeding the management of diabetes by a patient.
Pharmacists: Pharmacists are essential in medication counseling, ensuring patients understand and take the prescriptions correctly. They also play an essential role in monitoring and managing the side effects of diabetes drugs, contributing to general safety and effectiveness (Rahayu et al., 2021).
Conclusion
Finally, nurse participation in developing and administering health care programs is diverse yet significant. It includes being a caregiver, teacher, advocate, and partner. This Community-Based Diabetes Management Program shows how nursing can influence healthcare delivery and improve patient results. The nurses are not just at the bedside; they lead healthcare innovation and community wellness.
References
Susi Rahayu, Sunu Widianto, Irma Ruslina Defi, & Abdulah, R. (2021). Role of Pharmacists in the Interprofessional Care Team for Patients with Chronic Diseases. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Volume 14, 1701–1710. https://doi.org/10.2147/jmdh.s309938
Busca, E., Alessia Savatteri, Tania Lorenza Calafato, Mazzoleni, B., Michela Barisone, & Alberto Dal Molin. (2021). Barriers and facilitators to implementing nurse’s role in primary care settings: an integrative review. BMC Nursing, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00696-y
Elena, C. (2021). Nurses Who Assume the Role of Advocate for Older Hospitalized Patients: A Qualitative Study – Corina Elena Luca, Andrea Cavicchioli, Monica Bianchi, 2021. SAGE Open Nursing. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23779608211030651
Flaubert, J., Jennifer Lalitha Flaubert, Suzanne Le Menestrel, Williams, D. R., & Wakefield, M. K. (2021, May 11). The Role of Nurses in Improving Health Care Access and Quality. Nih.gov; National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/
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