Essay on Evidence-Based Practice

Since its official introduction in 1992, Evidence-based practice (EBP) has gained lots of ground. It is the process of assembling, processing, and applying research results to improve clinical practice, the work setting, and patient outcomes. The clinical practice’s approach is currently used in other fields such as nursing, education, and psychology. This paper aims to discuss evidence-based practice, identify two of its trails, and analyze how they influence care delivery.

The measuring of blood pressure noninvasively in children is a good initiative for the prevention of hypertension. High blood pressure in children and adolescents has emerged as a public health issue, primarily driven by obesity’s widespread in the current population. (Stergiou, 2017). The main approaches for measuring blood pressure noninvasively are the auscultatory method using an aneroid device and the automated process using oscillometric devices. Auscultatory BP measurement confirms elevated BP after detection via an electrical BP monitor. The auscultatory BP measurement encounters several complications in children, majorly due to anatomic and bodily features of the undeveloped persons.

In contrast, Automated BP measurement in children has been disputed by researchers. An experiment done by Jaime Miranda in Peru on children suggested that blood measured by the oscillometric device was poorly connected; hence the use of automated blood pressure devices was concluded to have limitations and not recommended. (Miranda, 2009). Therefore, using the auscultatory method and eventually comparing the measurement against obtained data with the oscillometric form is a proper initiative to providing better care than using the processes separately.

Valuing the role of family members is also a beneficial initiative to the well-being of patients. It is estimated that 50% of healthy patients aged 65 or older have family involvement in their health care. Family members can play several roles, determined by factors such as the patient’s disease and healthcare decisions to be well-thought-out. In a study on patients with lung cancer, Siminoff discovered that their families counselled 17% of the patients to change doctors during treatment of the ailment, mainly because they were unhappy with their specialist’s style of communication (Siminoff, 2013).

Clinicians should contemplate the part family and friends play and their impact on the patient’s treatment choice. By recognizing family members input, care may be more effective and efficient. They may have a superior influence on how patients present their illnesses to doctors and the type of treatment they pursue or accept excluding those reinforced by evidence-based research. Hence, considering these influences will aid nurses to apply evidence-based research to its maximum potential.

In conclusion, Evidence-based practice is undoubtedly an operative practical approach to handling treatment. By reviewing and assessing the most recent, uppermost quality research, practitioners in healthcare deliver the best of care to patients. Based on research, using Auscultatory BP measurement to confirm elevated BP after detection by an electronic BP monitor is an operative initiative for treating hypertension in children. In addition, acknowledging the role of family members on patients results in care delivery be that of extreme quality. Studying and understanding this practice is thus vital for healthcare practitioners.

References

Siminoff, L. (December 2013). Incorporating Patient and Family Preferences into Evidence-based Medicine. Philadelphia, PA, United States: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260377781_Incorporating_patient_and_family_preferences_into_evidence-based_medicine

Miranda, J.J., Stanojevic, S., Bernabe-Ortiz, A., Gilman, H., R., Smeeth, L., (2009). Performanceof Oscillometric Blood Pressure Devices in Children in Resource-poor settings. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2685878/

Stergiou, S., G., Boubouchairopoulou, N., Kollias, A. (2017) Accuracy of Automated Blood Pressure Measurement in Children. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.08553

Hawai’i State Centre for Nursing. (2020). Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Initiatives https://www.hawaiicenterfornursing.org/programs/evidence-based-practice-initiative/#:~:text=EBP%20refers%20to%20a%20problem,as%20well%20as%20clinician%20expertise.