Design for Change Proposal Guidelines
Purpose
You are to create a Design for Change proposal inclusive of your PICO and evidence appraisal information from your Capstone Project Milestone #1. Your plan is to convince your management team of a nursing problem you have uncovered and you feel is significant enough to change the way something is currently practiced. In the event you are not currently working as a nurse, please use a hypothetical clinical situation you experienced in nursing school, or nursing education issue you identified in your nursing program.
Course Outcomes
This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes.
CO1: Applies the theories and principles of nursing and related disciplines to individuals, families, aggregates, and communities from entry to the healthcare system through long-term planning. (PO #1)
CO2: Proposes leadership and collaboration strategies for use with consumers and other healthcare providers in managing care and/or delegating responsibilities for health promotion, illness prevention, health restoration and maintenance, and rehabilitative activities. (PO #2)
Due Date
Milestone #2 consists of the proposal for your Design for Change Capstone Project. Submit this Milestone to the Dropbox by the end of Week 4.
Points
Milestone #2 is worth 225 points.
Directions
- Create a proposal for your Design for Change Capstone Project. Open the template in Doc Sharing. You will include the information from Milestone #1, your PICO question, and evidence appraisal, as you compose this proposal. Your plan is to convince your management team of a nursing problem you have uncovered and you feel is significant enough to change the way something is currently practiced.
- The format for this proposal will be a paper following the Publication manual of APA 6th edition.
- The paper is to be four- to six-pages excluding the Title page and Reference page.
- As you organize your information and evidence, include the following topics.
- Introduction: Write an introduction but do not use “Introduction” as a heading in accordance with the rules put forth in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (2010, p. 63). Introduce the reader to the plan with evidence-based problem identification and solution.
- Change Plan: Write an overview using the John Hopkins Nursing EBP Model and Guidelines (2012)
- Practice Question
- Evidence
- Translation
- Summary
- Citations and References must be included to support the information within each topic area. Refer to the APA manual, Chapter 7, for examples of proper reference format. In-text citations are to be noted for all information contained in your paper that is not your original idea or thought. Ask yourself, “How do I know this?” and then cite the source. Scholarly sources are expected, which means using peer-reviewed journals and credible websites.
- Tables and Figures may be added as appropriate to the project. They should be embedded within the body of the paper (see your APA manual for how to format and cite). Creating tables and figures offers visual aids to the reader and enhances understanding of your literature review and design for change.
Solution
Design for Change Proposal: Breastfeeding Consultation and Follow-up
Introduction
Different researchers have identified the importance of breastfeeding to the health of the new born and the mother alike. As much as there is vast information concerning such benefits, the level of breastfeeding among mothers is still low, with most mothers opting for other methods of feeding their newborns. In addition, part of the few mothers who initiate breastfeeding fail to carry it through to the recommended period of six months for exclusive breastfeeding, citing various reasons, most of which are not viable. Different initiatives have been established by governments and international health organizations such as the World Health Organization to promote breastfeeding. Nevertheless, these initiatives have failed to be effective due to the approaches used to implement them and the level of commitment that health care providers have towards ensuring. This paper argues that proper lactation counseling and follow-up support could increase the chances of mothers breastfeeding by allowing them to understand the benefits of breastfeeding to the health of their babies and the various approaches that they could use to overcome the various challenges that may interfere with their breastfeeding for the proposed period of six months of exclusive breastfeeding and up to two years with complimentary feeding.
Factors That Inhibit Breastfeeding
Mothers are faced with a decision of whether to feed their children with breastmilk or any other commercial feeds after delivery. To a greater extent, most mothers are influenced into choosing one method or another by the people who surround them and the kind of information that they access (Castrucci, Hoover, Lim, & Maus, 2007). The rate at which mothers choose not to initiate breastfeeding or to stop breastfeeding a few weeks after initiation is high in the contemporary society, an aspect that could be attributed to a variety of reasons. Among the most common reasons is the general perception among some of the mothers that they are not producing enough milk for their babies or due to the infants having difficulties latching (Thurman & Allen, 2008). On the other hand, physical pain from sore nipples could lead mothers into deciding that they will not breastfeed their infants. Apart from such personal barriers to breastfeeding, societal factors such as the maternity leave’s length, working away from home, and being embarrassed to breastfeed the infant in public come into play as major barriers to breastfeeding.
All these barriers to breastfeeding are catalyzed by lack of or inadequate postpartum home visits and routine follow-up by health care professionals. Lack of proper support from the society and the members of the family could also influence the decision to initiate or continue breastfeeding. In addition, the media has come up strongly to portray bottle feeding as highly effective and normative, thus misinforming the mothers and leading to poor decision-making (Thurman & Allen, 2008). Healthcare professionals have also failed to provide mothers with guidance on issues of breastfeeding and to encourage them to breastfeed their infants. Due to the rampant adoption of bottle feeding in the society, new mothers fail to observe breastfeeding in the society, hence fail to consider trying it out themselves. Inadequate information on breastfeeding and lack of proper discussion concerning the benefits of breastfeeding in comparison with formula feeding affect the embracement of breastfeeding and also facilitate an increase in confusion and frustration among the mothers (Castrucci, Hoover, Lim, & Maus, 2007).
Benefits of Consultation and Follow-ups among Lactating Mothers
Most of the women, if well informed are likely to prefer breastfeeding to any other mode of feeding. Nevertheless, these mothers remain poorly informed of the significance of breast milk to the health of the baby (Battersby, 2016). in this case, the role of a lactation consultant is to educate the mothers on the importance of breastmilk to the child right from the antenatal clinic to the postpartum. Mother are required to understand that breast milk is made up of all the nutrients that a child may require for optimal growth and development during the first six months of life. In addition, lactation consultation allows mothers to acknowledge the process of breastfeeding. As such, the support offered by health care providers to breastfeeding mothers could help them, together with their families, to overcome any obstacles related to breastfeeding. It is important to note that support from knowledgeable professionals could be defined as any behavioral interventions or counseling aimed at improving the outcomes of breastfeeding, including collaborating with the other health care providers or assisting the mothers during lactation crises (Radzyminski, 2016). This involves any evidence-based approach carried out by the health care providers, to promote breastfeeding up to, at least, six months. It requires skills and experience for health care professionals to offer mothers breastfeeding support.
It is important to note that the ideas of what is meant by “support” could differ among the mother and health care providers and hence a general understanding of support should be established to ensure that mothers fully benefit and that the efforts of health care providers are not futile. For instance, while mothers may consider support as the encouragement and advice they receive from health care providers, the latter may consider support as providing answers to any of the questions asked by the mothers (Radzyminski, 2016). However, it is clear that support entails providing women with the confirmation concerning their competence in breastfeeding and assurance that breastfeeding challenges were normal and can be overcome. The availability of the health care providers to comment on the breastfeeding practices of the mothers and to inform them in areas where they are not competent is important in preparing them for the entire breastfeeding experience. As such, consultation and follow-ups for lactating mothers allows them to keep their competence in check and to ask any questions concerning their breastfeeding experiences from professionals (Battersby, 2016).
Lactation consultation and follow-up allow mothers to overcome the various challenges and obstacles they are facing in relation to breastfeeding. A common obstacle among mothers is the issue of self-esteem, whereby some of the mothers consider breastfeeding as a limit to their freedom (Radzyminski, 2016). On the other hand, women also face some of the earlier mentioned challenges and obstacles. It is the responsibility of the consultant to make sure that all the mothers have a clear understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding. By understanding the various benefits of breastmilk to the child and to the mother, including the immune factors found in colostrum, the nutrients that the child receives, and the bonding between the mother and the child as a result of the breastfeeding process, most mothers are able to initiate or maintain breastfeeding for six months (Radzyminski, 2016). Mothers wish their babies the best and hence will be willing in most cases to go to go to any lengths to facilitate their good health. As such, the knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding allows the mothers to make decisions based on what would promote the good health of their infants, hence embracing breastfeeding.
Mothers also need to understand that the various challenges that they may face in relation to breastfeeding including physical challenges such as sore nipples, and social challenges such as lack of family support, are normal and common across the society and that such challenges are less significant as comparted to the benefits of breastfeeding (Battersby, 2016). When mothers know that others are going through the same challenges that they are and tat others have overcome such challenges, they are encouraged to breastfeed their infants up to the end of the recommended period. Consultants provide mothers with skills and knowledge to counter their challenges, thus promoting breastfeeding (Battersby, 2016). For instance, in the case where breastfeeding has been halted due to the child facing difficulties latching, the consultants train the mothers on positioning of the baby to facilitate proper latching.
Conclusion
It is evident that breastfeeding is a highly
beneficial exercise to both the mother and the child and that it should be fostered
among mothers. To promote breastfeeding, it is important for the mothers to
receive proper information concerning the benefits and challenges of
breastfeeding. This allows them to understand why they breastfeed. Through proper
consultation and follow-up, the confidence of mothers in breastfeeding is
increased, an aspect that facilitates continued breastfeeding for at least six
months. As much as it may require increased investment of time and money for
proper consultation and follow-up of the lactating mother, the long-term benefits
of the process top both the child and the mother surpasses the costs.
References
Battersby, S. (2016). Supporting mothers to sustain breastfeeding. British Journal Of Midwifery, 242-247.
Castrucci, B. C., Hoover, K. L., Lim, S., & Maus, K. C. (2007). Availability of Lactation Counseling Services Influences Breastfeeding Among Infants Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units. American Journal Of Health Promotion, 21(5), 410-415.
Radzyminski, S. (2016). Mother’s Beliefs, Attitudes, and Decision Making Related to Infant Feeding Choices. Journal Of Perinatal Education, 25(1), 18-28.
Thurman, S., & Allen, P. (2008). Integrating lactation consultants into primary health care services: are lactation consultants affecting breastfeeding success? Pediatric Nursing, 34(5), 419-425.