Capstone Project on Effects of Covid 19 on Mental Health
Question
In a 5-7 page written assessment, define the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Assess the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective. Plan to spend approximately 2 direct practicum hours meeting with a patient, family, or group of your choice to explore the problem and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
Introduction
Nurses in all professional roles work to effect positive patient outcomes and improve organizational processes. Professional nurses are leaders in problem identification, planning, and strategy implementation—skills that directly affect patient care or organizational effectiveness.
Too often, change agents jump to a conclusion that an intervention will promote the envisioned improvement. Instead, the ideal approach is to determine which interventions are appropriate, based on an assessment and review of credible evidence. Interventions could be patient-facing or involve a change in policy and process. In this assessment, you’ll identify and make the case for your practicum focus area, then explore it in depth from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective.
This assessment lays the foundation for the work that will carry you through your capstone experience and guide the practicum hours needed to complete the work in this course. In addition, it will enable you to do the following:
Develop a problem statement for a patient, family, or population that’s relevant to your practice.
Begin building a body of evidence that will inform your approach to your practicum.
Focus on the influence of leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy on the problem.
Preparation
In this assessment, you’ll assess the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Plan to spend approximately 2 hours working with a patient, family, or group of your choice to explore the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective. During this time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry experts about the problem (for example, directors of quality or patient safety, nurse managers/directors, physicians, and epidemiologists).
To prepare for the assessment, complete the following:
Identify the patient, family, or group you want to work with during your practicum The patient you select can be a friend or a family member. You’ll work with this patient, family, or group throughout your capstone project, focusing on a specific health care problem.
Begin surveying the scholarly and professional literature to establish your evidence and research base, inform your assessment, and meet scholarly expectations for supporting evidence.
In addition, you may wish to complete the following:
Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you’ll be asked to complete and how it will be assessed.
Review the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 1 [PDF], which provides guidance for conducting this portion of your practicum.
Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft assessment to Smarthinking Tutoring for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.
Instructions
Complete this assessment in two parts.
Part 1
Define the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Assess the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective and establish your evidence and research base to plan, implement, and share findings related to your project.
Part 2
Connect with the patient, family, or group you’ll work with during your practicum. During this portion of your practicum, plan to spend at least 2 hours meeting with the patient, family, or group and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts of your choice. The hours you spend meeting with them should take place outside of regular work hours. Use the Practicum Focus Sheet [PDF] provided for this assessment to guide your work and interpersonal interactions. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
CORE ELMS
Complete the NURS-FPX4900 Volunteer Experience Form in CORE ELMS. Include a description of your relationship to the patient, family, or group in the Volunteer Experience comments field.
Requirements
The assessment requirements, outlined below, correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, note the additional requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.
Define a patient, family, or population health problem that’s relevant to your practice.
Summarize the problem you’ll explore.
Identify the patient, family, or group you intend to work with during your practicum.
Provide context, data, or information that substantiates the presence of the problem and its significance and relevance to the patient, family, or population.
Explain why this problem is relevant to your practice as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse.
Analyze evidence from peer-reviewed literature and professional sources that describes and guides nursing actions related to the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined.
Note whether the authors provide supporting evidence from the literature that’s consistent with what you see in your nursing practice.
Explain how you would know if the data are unreliable.
Describe what the literature says about barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice in addressing the problem you’ve defined.
Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of nursing standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population outcomes for this problem.
Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy making to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital readmissions.
Describe what the literature says about a nursing theory or conceptual framework that might frame and guide your actions during your practicum.
Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies could affect the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined.
Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of these standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population outcomes for this problem.
Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy making to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital readmissions.
Describe the effects of local, state, and federal policies or legislation on your nursing scope of practice, within the context of this problem.
Propose leadership strategies to improve outcomes, patient-centered care, and the patient experience related to the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined.
Discuss research on the effectiveness of leadership strategies.
Define the role that you anticipate leadership must play in addressing the problem.
Describe collaboration and communication strategies that you anticipate will be needed to address the problem.
Describe the change management strategies that you anticipate will be required to address the problem.
Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Additional Requirements
Format: Format your paper using APA style. APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is provided to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
Appropriate section headings.
Length: Your paper should be approximately 5–7 pages in length, not including the reference page.
Supporting evidence: Cite at least five sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your central ideas. Resources should be no more than five years old. Provide in-text citations and references in APA format.
Proofreading: Proofread your paper, before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on its substance.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Lead people and processes to improve patient, systems, and population outcomes.
Define a patient, family, or population health problem that’s relevant to personal and professional practice.
Competency 2: Make clinical and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence.
Analyze evidence from peer-reviewed literature and professional sources that describes and guides nursing actions related to a defined patient, family, or population problem.
Competency 5: Analyze the impact of health policy on quality and cost of care.
Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies could affect a defined patient, family, or population problem.
Competency 7: Implement patient-centered care to improve quality of care and the patient experience.
Propose leadership strategies to improve outcomes, patient-centered care, and the patient experience related to a defined patient, family, or population problem and document the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
Competency 8: Integrate professional standards and values into practice.
Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Solution
Capstone Project on Effects of Covid 19 on Mental Health
Part 1
Coronavirus has become a global pandemic since 2019 December. After it emerged from Wuhan, China has profoundly impacted most aspects of society, including physical and mental health (Frawley et al., 2021). My capstone project will focus on covid 19 effects on mental health as a health problem for individuals and their families. This subject is important as it will solve the limitation to maximum quality health care. Despite age and race, every individual can contract the coronavirus, leading to severe disease. The focus will be on individuals diagnosed with coronavirus and what post-mental effects are experienced with coronavirus diagnosis and treatment.
Having been a worldwide issue, covid 19 information has reached most individuals, which has created stigmatization on those who acquire it. I have selected a friend of mine, Mr. Alfred, a nurse diagnosed with coronavirus 19 and has undergone treatment. I will be working with him in my whole practicum to complete this project. The meeting will aid in the realization of mental health effects from coronavirus disease diagnosis. I shall have two hours meeting with him to explain the development of his mental illness after he was diagnosed with covid 19 as he claims that he developed symptoms like difficulty in eating and sleeping, loss of interest in what he loved doing and social withdrawal.
Mental health is an important aspect of all health systems, and it has been an issue of concern in the whole world. Particularly, the mental health challenge may not only be on the diagnosed individual but their family as well as they are overwhelmed with stress and worry (Frawley et al., 2021). Research has shown that covid 19 has brought about psychological effects like in the UK, where a study was carried out in March 2020 to identify the impact of the pandemic on individual mental status. It was discovered that more than 64% of families and households experienced at least one effect on their mental status and well-being, like sleeping difficulty and eating difficulty.
It is evident based on a study that the rapidly sweeping pandemic is creating fear and worry among populations, and it's more severe for those who test positive hence it is a matter of concern. People tend to experience psychopathy after disasters, and covid 19 has developed rapidly as a natural disaster hence a major concern for post-traumatic stress disorder (Javed et al., 2020). Expounding on this matter will help save a lot of individuals from succumbing to mental illnesses as a result of contracting covid 19 and the set guidelines like quarantine and isolation as it comes with feelings of loneliness, anxiety, fear and sadness.
Leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy are important factors in approaching a particular population's health problem to develop specific solutions (Frawley et al., 2021). Good leadership, education, approach and management can be well done to enhance solving the challenge. Every nurse should be a leader by looking for solutions to patients' problems and promoting quality care and good disease progression (Javed et al., 2020). As a leader, a nurse should develop solutions for preventing psychological and emotional torture on individuals diagnosed with covid-19. By creating an understanding atmosphere and helping them through the condition, they can overcome post-trauma and mental problems.
Patients who test positive for COVID -19 experiencing mental disturbances and conditions can be viewed as a failure of proper collaboration between the health stakeholders. This involves the patients themselves, the nurses, the community, and the public health officers responsible for educating the community. Proper communication to the community about the disease, how it is transmitted, and its treatment can help lower the mental problems that arise from quarantine isolation, testing positive and treatment.
A system of health that can accommodate change and manage it amidst the pandemic can help solve the particular challenge. Changing the approach to this individual can help lower the psychological problems they may experience. Lastly, policy considerations are important as the policies affect the practice. A solution can be obtained with a better policy that would favor the old susceptible individuals (Holmes et al., 2020). The pandemic is causing changes, which is to the general population and health care providers. They should now focus on psychological aspects when dealing with patients affected by the pandemic.
As a nurse, it is my responsibility to mitigate the effects on mental health caused by pandemic situations. Explaining and solving this problem will help improve the prognosis of individuals affected mentally by the outbreak, either directly or indirectly. The project will aid in understanding how to create a relationship with affected patients to enhance communication and effect change (Younas & Quennell, 2019). Various research has been undertaken on the role of nurses in solving mental problems caused by covid 19, and it is evident that with the nurse building a good relationship with the patients and the families through communication and promoting healthy behaviors can help reduce the adverse effects of covid 19 on psychological status (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). Nurses should listen to their patients displaying leadership skills and collaborate with family members to help the individual focus on those at higher risk like children, teens, and older patients.
Communication about covid 19 has spread through the media, creating tension and fear among individuals. (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020) confirms that public stigma has been a great barrier to achieving good mental status during the pandemic. As everyone is afraid of it, even wrong information has been spread, creating psychological torture to those infected. The present policy and guidelines have created a particular way of dealing with covid 19 patients. Despite being measures to positive outcomes, it has been a barrier to attaining free mental conditions as the policies create shame and stigma brought about by isolation and self-quarantine. The nature of the disease has also proven how it is complicated in its management as it is highly communicable, so patients need to be isolated (Holmes et al., 2020). Nursing theory in the management of mental illness states what nurses should do to patients and how they should do it. Nursing theory aids nurses in improving the quality of life, promoting self-care and self-efficacy for patients, and stress control to patients experiencing covid 19.
Solving the issue will require interdisciplinary interventions as research proposes. The health care providers should take the leadership role in guiding patients in their healing journey, protecting them from mental torture (Holmes et al., 2020). This will integrate coordination from nurses, doctors, pharmacists, councilors, public health officers, and the community in positive communication and promote healing rather than discouraging and wrong information. Additionally, changes should be implemented and managed in this period, as this pandemic requires diverse interventions (Younas & Quennell, 2019). The changes should be applied to favor good mental health. Lastly, in solving this issue of mental conditions developing in the face of coronavirus disease, policy should be changed and adjusted to not severely cause post-traumatic stress disorders.
Part 2
I reached out to a friend of mine, Mr. Alfred, 45 years old, who had been diagnosed with covid 19 and had a conversation with them on their mental status and identifying if the diagnosis impacted their mental and psychological condition. The individual is a father of two kids, a husband, and a registered nurse in a health facility. On the scheduled meeting, I have planned to ask the certain individual issues to help ascertain if covid 19 affects mental health to develop relevant interventions in implementing solutions. The meeting will help explore the health challenge and the approach methods to solving it by creating a deeper understanding from an individual level. The rationale for choosing the individual is because I work with him and saw how he developed mental conditions after being diagnosed with covid 19 despite being a health care provider. The age of the patient and a reason for selecting him as he is middle-aged help determine the factor of age in solving health problems. This will help enlighten individuals who may have developmental conditions despite their profession and age.
Presenting my ideas and knowledge about the problem will be through asking Mr. Alfred questions as he answers. Mr. Alfred is to share his experience from when he was diagnosed to the treatment process and healing, where he acknowledges experiencing mild to severe symptoms of mental health condition. At the meeting, what is expected to learn from him is how he received the news that he was covid 19 positive as it is where all the psychological concept begins. Nurses should learn to communicate such information to avoid severe mental illness. His family received him, how he went to isolation, and his experience explained more aspects in the meeting. These questions will be relevant in giving a deeper explanation for the concept of concern.
The meeting will further expound on the role of nurses in his healing process. How they ether impacted his mental status either positively or negatively. He will further explain what missed that he thinks led to his mental disruptions. The purpose of the meeting is to find how leadership failed in the management of Alfred, causing him to developmental conditions, which coordination that is relevant lacked in his management. The meeting will be a success with implementing the necessary communication needed to prevent mental problems for him. I will listen attentively to him as a good leader, portray leadership ask the relevant question, create a good rapport with him to enhance communication, and encourage him that the necessary changes can be done to prevent future occurrences like the one he experienced hence implementing change management skills.
The two-hour meeting will help understand the change management that should be implemented and policy considerations to avoid poor mental health for patients with covid 19. The project will finalize by explaining how integrating nursing professional standards into practices will help solve the issue of patients developing mental illness in the face of the covid 19 pandemic. This will include the cost of care, government policies, and the general nursing standards for health care provision. The expected barrier is breaching confidentiality as the individual will have to explain personal details and cultural and social disparities. The change management strategy for this is educating the client before the meeting on that need for personal information. For sociocultural issues, changes to enlighten and educate society can be implemented.
References
Frawley, T., Van Gelderen, F., Somanadhan, S., Coveney, K., Phelan, A., Lynam-Loane, P., & De Brún, A. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on health systems, mental health, and nursing potential. Irish Journal of psychological medicine, 38(3), 220-226.
Holmes, E. A., O'Connor, R. C., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., ... & Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(6), 547-560.
Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. U. R. (2020). The coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic's impact on mental health. The International Journal of health planning and management, 35(5), 993-996.
Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(6), 510-512.
Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). The usefulness of nursing theory‐guided practice: An integrative review. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 33(3), 540-555.
About Author
Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Essay Writers!
We have subject matter experts ready 24/7 to tackle your specific tasks and deliver them ON TIME, ready to hand in. Our writers have advanced degrees, and they know exactly what’s required to get you the best possible grade.
Find the right expert among 500+
We hire Gradewriters writers from different fields, thoroughly check their credentials, and put them through trials.
View all writers