NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX 6026 Biopsychosocial Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice 2

Prof. Name

Date

Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) in healthcare is an organized process to uncover the root causes of adverse events to prevent their recurrence. Its primary goal is to improve care quality and patient safety and nurture a culture of expansion within hospitals (Liang et al., 2020). This paper focuses on RCA targeting Inadequate Patient Education (IPE). It particularly concerns language boundaries, cognitive losses and cultural inequalities that obstruct patients’ contribution to their treatment. This case at Thomas Memorial Hospital centered on a 58-year-old patient, Camila. She was admitted for congestive heart failure and faced challenges in understanding her medication regimen due to cultural and language barriers that delayed communication. This RCA will explore the underlying causes of Camila’s safety concerns, assess practical approaches and propose an interdisciplinary plan to improve patient outcomes.

Analysis of the Root Cause

The safety problem in this case was identified as IPE. It was emphasized through RCA analysis of the patient Camila, a 58-year-old female admitted for congestive heart failure. Language, cognition and cultural transformations made it difficult for Camila to understand her treatment. She experienced problems such as confusion about her medications, misinterpreted care instructions and adverse effects related to her heart condition.

Safety issues were recognized during her hospital stay, as nurses reported that she was confused and unable to follow treatment instructions. This problem was a risk to Camila’s health. It increases her susceptibility to the progression of congestive heart failure due to improper medication use. The other issues were that Camila’s language, culture and health literacy confused the staff regarding understanding and executing her treatment plan (Schouten et al., 2020). Analysis of this case indicates the necessity of personalized education for Camila, clear communication tools and support for overcoming language and cultural barriers for better adherence.

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Regardless of prescribed treatment plans, guaranteeing Camila fully comprehends and follows them remains challenging. It highlights the need for directed solutions such as linguistic educational materials, visual aids and cultural competency initiatives for healthcare experts.Various systemic factors have contributed to this issue. It includes inadequate cultural and language support services and insufficient staff training to address patient needs. Human factors such as biases, misunderstandings and discriminatory views among staff affect their understanding of patients’ needs. Another critical issue is the healthcare system’s generic approach.

It failed to meet Camila’s needs and should be tailored to cultural and linguistic differences. The lack of communication tools is significant because it deprives Camila of expressing her concerns and being actively involved in her care. Contributing factors included inadequate patient education, communication barriers, limited cultural competency and insufficient translation services. These impact patient safety and effective care in a diverse healthcare setting (Schouten et al., 2020). 

Application of Evidence-Based Strategies

Evidence-based interventions and culturally sensitive practices must be executed to facilitate proper medication adherence and safety compliance for Camila due to IPE. Sepassi et al. (2023), explore that in the United States (U.S), roughly 88% of adults have inadequate health literacy. English proficiency is an important risk factor for racial and ethnic minorities. About 45% of these minority groups report limited English proficiency compared to only 13.9% of native English speakers. This demands the use of strategies that heighten patient understanding in educational programs.

To address Camila’s understanding, culturally and linguistically appropriate educational materials could help bridge the language gaps and enhance learning. Visual aids and translated documents that fit Camila’s culture can reinforce key data (Mbanda et al., 2020). Cultural training equips healthcare staff to understand and respect patients’ cultural backgrounds, beliefs and values. It safeguards respectful and effective communication. For example, learning cultural norms like dietary restrictions or preferred family involvement can enhance patient interactions. Language proficiency training empowers staff to communicate basic medical data in patients’ native languages (Cosignani et al., 2022). This is helpful for patients such as Camila. She has limited English skills. These strategies build trust, improve patient safety and reduce medication errors.

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Focusing on patient education and trained medical interpreters can prevent language barriers from affecting treatment comprehension and adherence. Executing teach-back methods allows healthcare providers to check the patient’s experience by asking them to repeat the information in their own words (Shersher et al., 2020). Culturally tailored health promotion programs that respect and include traditions and beliefs increase patient engagement and adherence to treatment plans. Lastly, multilingual patient portals and mHealth resources like an interactive application with real-time translation offer personalized health data and culturally relevant reminders. It enhances patient understanding (Kim et al., 2024). These methods can empower Camila to follow her treatment plan safely.

Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based Strategies

Addressing cases like Camila’s execution of language support services and culturally tailored patient education sources and staff training programs can reinforce the patient safety system. This helps to reduce risk by avoiding medication-related miscommunication among patients and improves compliance with their respective treatment plans. Hospitals must provide access to skilled interpreters and video interpreter services. Studies demonstrate that professional interpretation during healthcare encounters would result in better patient understanding and satisfaction and fewer complications arising from medical treatment (Mbanda et al., 2020).

Medication instruction and other educational resources should be interpreted in the patient’s prime language as Camila’s native language is Spanish. Culturally relevant content is used in patient care. Interactive web-based training sessions can do this to equip staff with skills in cultural sensitivity and active communication. The enhanced cultural ability of staff permits them to respect and adapt to the beliefs and practices of patients, leading to better care. A structured process of determining patients’ adherence at the point of each clinical visit would catch potential misunderstandings sooner. Techniques such as teach-back methods, when patients are asked to relay instructions in their own words, enhanced retention and reduced medication-related errors.

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

A patient advocate role could facilitate communication and cultural conciliation between patients and staff (Shersher et al., 2020). This initiative aims to reduce medication errors, improve Camila’s understanding of her treatment and increase adherence to her medication plan.The initiative will run over six months, featuring defined timelines and targeted focus areas. In the first two months, healthcare providers will undertake training and online-based learning to enhance their cultural awareness and communication skills to understand and admire patients’ health beliefs. The next two months will be spent instructing language interpreter services and developing educational resources. The final two months are for review, including staff and patient feedback.

Patient feedback mechanisms help enhance the plan and help healthcare providers understand more about patient experiences and adapt their strategies. For instance, mobile health apps offer translated instructions and educational content, making data more accessible and interactive for patients like Camila (Kim et al., 2024). Practical approaches to this program are implemented, and professional resources are utilized to create the safest healthcare setting for Camila and patients from diverse backgrounds.

Existing Organizational Resources

Using the current organizational resources and national patient education tools will strengthen this safety improvement initiative. The language interpreter services team is crucial for the hospital in providing the right communication to non-English-speaking patients. This service can be enhanced using MedlinePlus, a U.S.-based platform offered by the National Library of Medicine that provides free, multilingual health data. MedlinePlus is recognized for delivering trusted, culturally sensitive educational details on drugs and conditions (National Library of Medicine, 2024). 

The present organizational resources can then be built upon with more attractive and modified learning tools like workshops, role plays and simulation-based training by staff. Implementing feedback systems can contribute to tailoring and enhancing these resources for better engagement and patient safety. Pharmacists can use tools from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), like best practice guidelines to make medication safer and administered properly. Using these resources in the hospital protocols will reduce medication errors and improve patient understanding (Shersher et al., 2020). The hospital’s training department is also vital in enhancing staff skills and cultural competence. Partnering with the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC), known for its culturally aware training modules and patient safety resources helps support these initiatives (National Center for Cultural Competence, n.d.).

Supplementary materials such as multilingual printed guides, instructional videos and telehealth interpretation services for less common languages improve patient appointment and treatment compliance (Kim et al., 2024). Combining these organizational and external resources will give the hospital a strong framework to promote patient safety and better outcomes for patients facing language and cultural challenges. 

Conclusion

The assessment includes the RCA and improvement plan on IPE at Thomas Memorial Hospital. The key challenges are the language and cultural barriers to patients’ understanding of Camila. A professional interpreter, cultural competency training, visual aids and patient-centered technology should be employed with evidence-based practices. Implementing these strategies would encourage patients like Camila to assume active roles in their care, producing better health outcomes. These competencies would create a more inclusive and effective healthcare setting for multiple patient populations.

References

Cosignani, D., Chen, Y., Cheung, G., Lawrence, M., Lyndon, M. P., Ma’u, E., & Ramalho, R. (2022). Adaptation models, barriers, and facilitators for cultural safety in telepsychiatry: A systematic scoping review. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633×211069664

Kim, B. Y., Ma, Q., & Diamond, L. (2024). “It’s in my language”: A case study on multilingual mHealth application for immigrant populations with limited English proficiency. ACM Digital Library, 24, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613905.3637125

Liang, C., Zhou, S., Yao, B., Hood, D., & Gong, Y. (2020). Toward systems-centered analysis of patient safety events: Improving root cause analysis by optimized incident classification and information presentation. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 135, 104054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.104054

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Mbanda, N., Dada, S., Bastable, K., Ingalill, G.-B., & Ralf W., S. (2020). A scoping review of the use of visual aids in health education materials for persons with low-literacy levels. Patient Education and Counseling, 104(5), 998–1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.11.034

National Center for Cultural Competence. (n.d.). NCCC | home. Georgetown.edu. https://nccc.georgetown.edu/

National Library of Medicine. (2024). MedlinePlus. Medlineplus.gov. 

https://medlineplus.gov/

Schouten, B. C., Cox, A., Duran, G., Kerremans, K., Banning, L. K., Lahdidioui, A., van den Muijsenbergh, M., Schinkel, S., Sungur, H., Suurmond, J., Zendedel, R., & Krystallidou, D. (2020). Mitigating language and cultural barriers in healthcare communication: Toward a holistic approach. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(12), 2604–2608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.05.001

Sepassi, A., Garcia, S., Tanjasiri, S., Lee, S., & Bounthavong, M. (2023). Predicted health literacy disparities between immigrant and US-born racial/ethnic minorities: A nationwide study. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38(10). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08082-x

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Shersher, V., Haines, T. P., Sturgiss, L., Weller, C., & Williams, C. (2020). Definitions and use of the teach-back method in healthcare consultations with patients: A systematic review and thematic synthesis. Patient Education and Counseling, 104(1), 118–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.07.026