Assessing the Problem: Quality, Safety and Cost Considerations Essay

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrollable cell proliferation, thus affecting the body tissue where the proliferation occurs. Various types of cancers affect patients across different ages and health populations. The most common types of cancer include leukemia, breast, prostate, liver, and lung cancer. Cancer, as a disease, is a significant public health issue. It is also one of the leading causes of death across health populations worldwide. Cancer is one of the major health burdens that negatively impact individuals, healthcare systems and economies. However, 40% of cancers are preventable through lifestyle modification. Additionally, cancers diagnosed early through screenings and early detection programs are treated early, thus better health outcomes.

From the justification in the previous assessment, cancer requires attention from all healthcare players, thus developing solutions to address it effectively. Cancer prevalence and incidence are disproportionately shared among different populations, with minority and vulnerable populations bearing the bigger burden. Cancer impacts the patient’s quality of life in one way or another. The high cost of treatment and management also impacts the individual, family and healthcare system. This assessment focuses on the impact of cancer among African Americans on the quality of care, patient safety and cost. It will also propose strategies to improve care quality and patient safety and reduce costs.

Impact of Cancer Among African Americans on Quality of Care, Patients Safety and Cost to the System and Individual

 There are various impacts of cancer, especially in minority populations. Cancer among African Americans Significantly impacts the quality of care for the system and the individual. As mentioned earlier, the prevalence and incidence of cancer are high among African Americans, requiring more care and attention. Research shows that the high cancer prevalence and incidents among African Americans are caused by lifestyle and other socioeconomic factors such as ignorance (DeSantis et al., 2019). Inadequate awareness of cancer and cancer prevention impacts participation in cancer prevention programs such as population screenings, thus impacting the quality of cancer care among these individuals. The quality of care in cancer is determined by the prevention levels, early screening and detection to enhance treatment, and the accessibility of treatment as early as possible. Cancer patients have better health outcomes when the disease is detected at an early stage and treatment is initiated as early as possible. The problem, therefore, impacts the quality of care in the healthcare system by mandating the initiation of cancer prevention programs, including early screenings for detection and health promotion to encourage treatment. Therefore, the programs significantly help improve the quality of care for cancer patients, thus improving health outcomes and quality of life for patients in this population.

Patient safety is another important aspect of cancer care. The considerations required to enhance patient safety in cancer care include enhanced efficacy, evidence-based practices, and interprofessional coordination delivered through the patient-centered approach. However, due to various factors, patient safety in cancer care among African Americans may be compromised. To begin with, the shortage of oncology care providers against the increased number of cancer patients in this population is a major barrier to enhancing patient safety. Few care providers are expected to offer care services to a huge number of patients, contributing to the high risk for medication errors and other medical mistakes resulting from being stressed from the increased workload. The care provider shortage also compromises patient-centered approaches, thus enhancing patient safety.

Additionally, various cancer treatment and management interventions raise questions about patient safety. The most common patient safety considerations in cancer care include weakening the immune system, slips and falls following cancer medications that cause dizziness and adverse effects on cancer comorbidities. According to Jacobson et al. (2022), the treatment and management interventions used for cancer, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy and various medications, have been seen to contribute to weaker immune systems, thus negatively impacting the cancer patient’s overall health. Additionally, most cancer patients have other comorbidities, and managing them together may be compromised by inadequate interprofessional coordination and the reduced effectiveness of the medications when used together, thus compromising overall patient safety.

Cancer-related patient safety issues also impact the healthcare system. For instance, patient safety issues such as drug interactions increase hospitalization and emergency department cases. Hospital readmissions and hospital-acquired infections may also impact the institution’s reputation.

The cancer problem also impacts the cost to the healthcare system and the individual. According to Alzehr et al. (2022), the cost of cancer is high, and cancer diagnosis is associated with a potential decrease in income, a high risk of poverty, increased unemployment and healthcare costs for the individual. Cancer is a disease that requires time investment in management and treatment, which may mean poor work productivity following absenteeism and sick offs to seek medical attention. These two may affect the individual’s employability, thus leading to less income and, in turn, high poverty rates. In addition, the average cost of cancer care one year after diagnosis is approximately $42 000, catering for medical care and drugs. More so, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO,2021) notes that patient-out-of-pocket costs for cancer amount to approximately $16.22 billion annually. Therefore, cancer significantly impacts individual costs.

Research shows that the cost of cancer remains high and has been increasing faster than the current cancer incidences (Hofmarcher et al., 2020). The high costs considerably impact the healthcare system. Cancer is a condition that exerts a financial burden on the healthcare system. The cost is required to cater for medications and treatment therapy equipment and hire oncology specialists to offer care. Hence, the cancer problem among African Americans greatly impacts healthcare costs.

State Board Nursing Practice Standards and or Organizational or Governmental Policies Effects on the Impact of Care Quality, Patient Safety and Cost among African Americans with Cancer

Various governmental and non-governmental organizations strive to promote patient safety and quality of care and reduce cancer costs. Most of these organizations mainly focus on minority and high-risk populations, such as African Americans, to promote accessibility and equality in cancer care. The National Cancer Institute is one of the federal agencies that deals with cancer research and training. The governmental organization leads, supports and coordinates cancer research nationwide, focusing on different health populations (National Cancer Institute, n.d.). The research aims to expand scientific knowledge on cancer, helping cancer patients live longer and healthier lives. Additionally, the agency supports research that aims to produce recommendations on improving care quality and reducing patient safety issues related to cancer.

Furthermore, the state board of nursing practice standards regulated the scope of nursing practice and standards for oncology nurses. Some states, such as Illinois, restrict the offering of oncology nursing practice unless the nurse is trained in oncology nursing. The restriction positively impacts care quality and patient safety for cancer patients among African Americans since it ensures that experts deliver oncology care, thus reducing the possibilities of patient safety issues such as medication errors. Most importantly, it improves the quality of care by ensuring that trained professionals provide cancer care. The nursing practice act also regulates the conduct of nurses by ensuring that nurses provide high-quality care while considering patient safety and maintaining ethical standards.;

Governmental policies also affect the impact of cancer among African Americans. Various government policies exist to increase the affordability and accessibility of care, especially for minority populations. The National Cancer Act of 1971 is one of the policies that affect the impact of cancer across populations. The policy encourages running programs such as screenings and early cancer detection to encourage treatment. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act increases the affordability and accessibility of care for all patients across health populations. According to Zhao et al. (2020), the affordable care act was developed to decrease disparities in care access. It covers essential health benefits and treatment costs, including cancer treatment and follow-up care. Therefore, insurance covers help reduce cancer costs for individuals. However, it is worth noting that most minority populations come from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds and do not have health insurance coverage, thus compromising cancer care access.

The above-discussed standards and policies will guide in addressing care quality, patient safety and costs to the system and individual. For instance, the nursing practice act will guide me as I develop my intervention to address the problem by ensuring that the intervention includes evidence-based recommendations to promote high-quality actions. It will also guide me to maintain high ethical standards while interacting with the population and protect population information to enhance patient safety.

Proposed strategies to improve Cancer Treatment and Management among African Americans 

Different strategies can be used to enhance care quality and patient safety and reduce the costs of cancer care, thus improving treatment and management/patient outcomes. The first strategy is empowering health promotion interventions among minority populations. As mentioned earlier, the high prevalence and incidence of cancer among minority populations are caused by ignorance and various lifestyle factors. Health promotion programs focusing on awareness creation and lifestyle modification to prevent cancer and increase cancer medical help-seeking can be used to improve the problem in this particular population. Yedjou et al. (2019) note that health promotion interventions effectively enhance cancer prevention and promote treatment and management. Increased awareness will enhance participation in screening and early detection programs, thus promoting care quality, patient safety and health outcomes.

Another strategy is subsidizing insurance costs for minority populations to increase the accessibility and affordability of cancer care. The government can take the initiative to subsidize insurance covers so that members of minority populations can easily access them. One of the sources that can be used to benchmark these strategies and enhance effectiveness is the National Practice Benchmark for Oncology. It can be used to assess practices against oncology best practices from other nations, thus promoting effectiveness.

Conclusion

Cancer considerably impacts the African American population. It affects care quality, patient safety and costs for the individual and the system. Various government policies and nursing practice standards impact oncology care, thus impacting care provision for the African American population. Effective strategies to improve patient safety and care quality and reduce cost include health promotion interventions and the subsidization of insurance covers. These interventions should be developed based on the current practice guidelines and standards.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

References

Alzehr, A., Hulme, C., Spencer, A., & Morgan-Trimmer, S. (2022). The economic impact of cancer diagnosis to individuals and their families: a systematic review. Supportive care in cancer: official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 30(8), 6385–6404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06913-x

DeSantis, C. E., Miller, K. D., Goding Sauer, A., Jemal, A., & Siegel, R. L. (2019). Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2019. CA: A Cancer Journal For Clinicians, 69(3), 211-233. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21555

Hofmarcher, T., Lindgren, P., Wilking, N., & Jönsson, B. (2020). The cost of cancer in Europe 2018. European Journal of Cancer, 129, 41-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2020.01.011

Jacobson, J. O., Cox, J. V., Peppercorn, J., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & Massachusetts General Hospital. (2022). Morbidity, Mortality and Improvement Rounds. How Safe is Cancer Care? American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal, 18(12). https://doi.org/10.1200/op.22.00450

National Cancer Institute. (n.d.). Cancer Research. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-cancer-institute-nci#mission

Pan American Health Organization. (2021). The burden of cancer in the Region of the Americas, 2000-2019. ENLACE data portal. https://www.paho.org/en/enlace/burden-cancer

Yedjou, C. G., Sims, J. N., Miele, L., Noubissi, F., Lowe, L., Fonseca, D. D. & Tchounwou, P. B. (2019). Health and racial disparity in breast cancer. Breast Cancer Metastasis And Drug Resistance: Challenges and Progress, 31-49. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20301-6_3

Zhao, J., Mao, Z., Fedewa, S. A., Nogueira, L., Yabroff, K. R., Jemal, A., & Han, X. (2020). The Affordable Care Act and access to care across the cancer control continuum: a review at 10 years. CA: A Cancer Journal For Clinicians, 70(3), 165-181. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21604

 

 

Seth Parker   

Assessment 2 Instructions: Assessing the Problem: Quality, Safety, and Cost Considerations

 

In a 5-7 page written assessment, assess the effect of the patient, family, or population problem you’ve previously defined on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual. Plan to spend approximately 2 direct practicum hours exploring these aspects of the problem with the patient, family, or group you’ve chosen to work with and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form. Report on your experiences during your first two practicum hours.

 

Organizational data, such as readmission rates, hospital-acquired infections, falls, medication errors, staff satisfaction, serious safety events, and patient experience can be used to prioritize time, resources, and finances. Health care organizations and government agencies use benchmark data to compare the quality of organizational services and report the status of patient safety. Professional nurses are key to comprehensive data collection, reporting, and monitoring of metrics to improve quality and patient safety.

 

In this assessment, you’ll assess the effect of the health problem you’ve defined on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual. Plan to spend at least 2 direct practicum hours working with the same patient, family, or group. During this time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry experts.

To prepare for the assessment:

 

Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you will be asked to complete and how it will be assessed.

Conduct research of the scholarly and professional literature to inform your assessment and meet scholarly expectations for supporting evidence.

Review the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 2 [PDF], which provides guidance for conducting this portion

of your practicum.

 

Note: As you revise your writing, check out the resources listed on the Writing Center’s Writing Support page.

Complete this assessment in two parts.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Part 1

Assess the effect of the patient, family, or population problem you defined in the previous assessment on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual. Plan to spend at least 2 practicum hours exploring these aspects of the problem with the patient, family, or group. During this time, you may also consult with subject

 

matter and industry experts of your choice. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form. Use the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 2 [PDF] provided for this assessment to guide your work and interpersonal interactions.

Part 2

Report on your experiences during your first 2 practicum hours, including how you presented your ideas about the health problem to the patient, family, or group.

Whom did you meet with?

What did you learn from them?

Comment on the evidence-based practice (EBP) documents or websites you reviewed.

What did you learn from that review?

Share the process and experience of exploring the influence of leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy on the problem.

What barriers, if any, did you encounter when presenting the problem to the patient, family, or group?

Did the patient, family, or group agree with you about the presence of the problem and its significance and relevance?

What leadership, communication, collaboration, or change management skills did you employ during your interactions to overcome these barriers or change the patient’s, family’s, or group’s thinking about the problem (for example, creating a sense of urgency based on data or policy requirements)?

What changes, if any, did you make to your definition of the problem, based on your discussions?  What might you have done differently?

 

Update the total number of hours on the NURS-FPX4900 Volunteer Experience Form in Capella Academic Portal.

 

The BSN Capstone Course (NURS-FPX4900 ) requires the completion and documentation of nine (9) practicum hours. All hours must be recorded in the Capella Academic Portal. Please review the BSN Practicum Campus page for more information and instructions on how to log your hours.

 

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.

Explain how the patient, family, or population problem impacts the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Cite evidence that supports the stated impact.

Note whether the supporting evidence is consistent with what you see in your nursing practice.

Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies can affect the problem’s impact on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of these standards and/or policies in addressing care quality, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Explain how these standards and/or policies will guide your actions in addressing care quality, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Describe the effects of local, state, and federal policies or legislation on your nursing scope of practice,

within the context of care quality, patient safety, and cost to the system and individual.

 

Propose strategies to improve the quality of care, enhance patient safety, and reduce costs to the system and individual.

Discuss research on the effectiveness of these strategies in addressing care quality, patient safety, and

costs to the system and individual.

Identify relevant and available sources of benchmark data on care quality, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.

Use paraphrasing and summarization to represent ideas from external sources.

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 5 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.

 

 

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

Competency 3: Transform processes to improve quality, enhance patient safety, and reduce the cost of care. Explain how a patient, family, or population problem impacts the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Propose strategies to improve the quality of care, enhance patient safety, and reduce costs to the system and individual and document the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.

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 can affect a patient, family, or population problem’s impact on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.

Competency 8: Integrate professional standards and values into practice.

Use paraphrasing and summarization to represent ideas from external sources. Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.

 

SCORING GUIDE

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

 

VIEW SCORING GUIDE