Pain Management in Children - Essay Example

Pain Management in Children Section E: Evaluation Plan. Outcome measure The outcome measure will rely on the parents to evaluate the extent at which the program has achieved its objectives. In this case, parents will be asked questions regarding their children’s pain and the management practices that nurses used to control, assess, and manage children’s pain. Through a self-completion questionnaire provided to the parents with sick children, we will be able to establish whether the program’s objectives were achieved in order to carry out any corrective measures. Appendix 1 provides the self-completion questionnaire that parents will fill out to test their attitude towards the pain management program. It is important for an outcome measure to be reliable, sensitive to change, and valid. Hence, the outcome measure adopted is reliable in that the questions in the measure are easy to understand and enhances easy evaluation of the program. Importantly, the outcome measure provides an accurate indicator of the intended measure it should focus on, which makes the outcome measure valid (Royse, Thyer, & Padgett, 2009). On the other hand, it is evident that the outcome measure evaluated successful implementation of the program. Finally, the outcome measure is sensitive to change since its focus is on aspects that contribute to successful implementation of the program. Evaluation Data Collection The outcome measure, which is structured in form of a Likert-Scale questionnaire, will be the best tool to use in order to evaluate the outcome. The questionnaire, which is provided as Appendix 1, will evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented change. The questionnaire focuses on mothers since they are the best suited individuals to evaluate their children’s pain. Importantly, it is essential to point out that the items in the provided questionnaire conceptualize the elements of effective pain management in children. After the implementation of the change, the questionnaire will provide the healthcare facility with an opportunity to evaluate the success of the program. Evaluation requires a combination of human and financial resources in order for it to be effective. In this case, human resources will be an essential component of the evaluation process since they will provide the questionnaires to the parents for filling and consequently collect them after filling. On the other hand, the pain nurse is a component of the human resources required in the evaluation since she will walk through the pediatric ward and identify any inconsistencies in the program. Conversely, it is important to note that financial resources are crucial in producing the questionnaires required for the evaluation process. Feasibility of a program goes in line with the ability of the program to utilize the allocated resources effectively. In this regard, it is important to point out that this program will utilize all its resources effectively and efficiently. On the other hand, Holden and Zimmerman (2009) identified the importance of ensuring that the questions in the evaluation plan were easy and simple in order for the respondents to understand the questions. In line with this, it is evident that the questions provided in the questionnaire are simple to understand with their easy structure avoiding the cumbersome nature that imposes undue pressure on the respondents. The Mayday Fund is one of the grant sources that can provide funding for this program. In this regard, the fund’s vision to “close the gap between knowledge and practice in the care and treatment of pain” corresponds with the programs objective of using research to develop a pain management program in the hospital (The Mayday Fund, 2011). On the other hand, the American Pain Society is another body that provides grants to individuals and organizations that are committed to provide effective pain management and control to American patients. Hence, the body will provide funding for this program. Section F: Decision Making. The parliamentary model developed by Lombardi, Schermerhorn, and Kramer is an effective approach to decide the future of healthcare programs (as cited in Guo, 2008). In line with this, this model proposes eight steps in the decision making process. First, the evaluation establishes the need for the solution. The second step involves defining the optimum outcome that should be achieved. The third involves conducting a stakeholders’ review. The fourth step involves establishing the pros and the cons of the proposed solution. The fifth step will involve the process of making an option review. Thereafter, the model proposes carrying out a review of potential consequences of the proposed solution and formulates a step-by-step plan. Finally, the approach culminates into carrying out an analysis of the achievements. To maintain a successful project solution, the process will fundamentally involve the process of evaluating whether the facility will continue using this proposed program. This way, the evaluation will be essential in establishing whether the solution supported the objectives. After establishing that the solution supported the objectives in the solution, it is important to maintain the project solution and continue its implementation since the approaches used was effective as it supported the objectives of the solution. The process of extending a successful project solution starts after carrying out an evaluation of the implemented solution. Following the establishment of the success of the project solution, extending the solution should involve a review of the solution by the stakeholders implementing this proposed solution. The stakeholders will therefore engage in identifying extra resources required to implement the solution successfully. In addition, the stakeholders’ review will also ensure that each member’s roles were re-evaluated and reinforced in order to maintain the momentum of the implementation process. In this case, the stakeholders responsible for implementing the solution will be motivated to extend the successful implementation of the solution. In order to revise an unsuccessful project solution, the evaluation provides an effective way of identifying the inconsistencies in the approaches used to implement the project solution. In this case, the evaluation will identify the loopholes that contribute to the failure of the solution while pinpointing the areas that were not supporting the objectives of the solution. Thereafter, conducting a stakeholders’ review will provide the stakeholders with the approaches that will ensure the success of the project. In effect, these approaches will be reinforced on the individuals responsible for the implementation of the proposed solution while also providing the resources that are important for implementing the revised solution. Termination of an unsuccessful solution after evaluation involves a stakeholders’ review of the solution and the establishment that the solution cannot be successful despite any revisions. Hence, the stakeholders’ review will identify approaches that the stakeholders will use to communicate to the staff responsible of implementing the solution about the need to terminate the implementation of the proposed solution. This way, the staff will be motivated to support future solutions since communication is an efficient way of ensuring motivation during implementation of solutions and programs. In the work place, presentations will be an effective way of providing feedback. In this case, I will use presentations to ensure that I provided feedback to members of staff on the solution and its effectiveness regarding the support it offered to support the objectives of the proposed solution. On the other hand, presentations will also be an effective approach to communicate the project and its results to professional groups external to the project since they provide visual effects that are combined with verbal communication to ensure effectiveness in passing the message. References Guo, K. L. (2008). DECIDE: A Decision-Making Model for More Effective Decision Making by Health Care Managers. The Health Care Manager 27(2): 118-127. Holden, D. J., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2009). A Practical Guide to Program Evaluation Planning: Theory and Case Examples. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Royse, D. D., Thyer, B. A., & Padgett, D. K. (2009). Program Evaluation: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Cengage Publishers. The Mayday Fund. (2011). History of Mayday Grants: 1993 to 2011. Retrieved from http://www.maydayfund.org/sft211/grantshistory93to11.pdf Appendix 1: Outcome Measure These questions will ask you to describe your child’s pain and how the hospital has managed the pain. Under each question is a scale to record your answer. Read each question carefully and then circle a number on the scale under that question to indicate how that specific question applies to you. 1. Kindly please rate the level of your child’s pain at the present moment. (No Pain) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6(Very intense pain) 2. On the whole, how much does your child’s pain problem get in the way of their daily activities? (No interference) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extreme interference) 3. Since you checked your child into the hospital with a pain problem, has there been a change in the level of pain in your child? (No change) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extreme change) 4. How much is your level of satisfaction based on the pain management approaches the hospital management has used on your child? (Not satisfied) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extremely satisfied) 5. How supportive or helpful are nurses to you in relation to your child’s pain? (Not at all supportive) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extremely supportive) 6. Rate your child’s overall mood during the past week. (Extremely low mood) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extremely high mood) 7. During the past week, how much control do you feel that nurses have had on your child’s pain? (Not in control at all) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extremely in control) 8. How much suffering do you think your child experiences because of the pain they suffered? (No suffering) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Extreme suffering) This section asks you about the approaches that nurses use to respond to your child when they are in pain. On the given scale, kindly circle the number that indicates the nurses’ response when your child is in pain. 1. Ignores my child. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 2. Asks my child what he/she can do to help. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 3. Reads/asks me to read to my child. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 4. Expresses irritation at my child and me. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 6. Talks to my child about something else in order to take my child’s mind off the pain. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 7. Expresses frustration at my child and me. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 8. Tries to get my child to rest. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 9. Tries to involve my child in some activity (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) 10. Gives my child medication in order to ease the pain. (Never) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Very often) Read More