Write a 4-5 page population health improvement plan, based on your evaluation of the best available evidence from a minimum of 3-5 current scholarly or professional sources of demographic, environmental, and epidemiological data that focuses on your diagnosis of a widespread population health issue.

Part of effectively engaging in evidence-based practice is the ability to synthesize raw health data with research studies and other relevant information in the literature. This will enable you to develop sound interventions, initiatives, and outcomes to address health concerns that you find in data during the course of your practice.

In this assessment, you have an opportunity to evaluate community demographic, environmental, and epidemiological data to diagnose a widespread population health issue, which will be the focus of a health improvement plan that you develop.

Demonstration of Proficiency

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

• Competency 2: Apply evidence-based practice to design interventions to improve population health.
  • Evaluate community demographic, epidemiological, and environmental data to diagnose widespread population health issues.
  • Develop an ethical health improvement plan to address a population health issue within a community.
• Competency 3: Evaluate outcomes of evidence-based interventions.
  • Propose criteria for evaluating population health improvement plan outcomes.
• Competency 4: Evaluate the value and relative weight of available evidence upon which to make a clinical decision.
  • Justify the value and relevance of evidence used as the basis of a population health improvement plan.
• Competency 5: Synthesize evidence-based practice and academic research to communicate effective solutions.
  • Develop a strategy for communicating with colleagues and members of the community in an ethical, culturally sensitive, and inclusive way.
  • Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Scenario

Your organization is undertaking a population health improvement initiative focused on one of the pervasive and chronic health concerns in the local community. Examples of health improvement initiatives include nationwide concerns, such as type 2 diabetes, HIV, obesity, insect bites, and Zika. However, your organization has asked you to determine which widespread health concern should be addressed in a population health improvement plan for your community and has entrusted you with gathering and evaluating the relevant data.

Your Role 

You are a nurse in a community clinic or hospital and you have a good idea about the most common chronic health issues among its patients. You have been asked to prepare a presentation for the next staff meeting about the issue and the plan that you are proposing to help improve the community’s health.

Instructions

The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. In addition, you may want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

Part 1: Data Evaluation

Evaluate the outcomes of a population health improvement initiative from community demographic, epidemiological, and environmental data.

• Identify the relevant data.
• Identify the level of evidence, validity, and reliability for each source.
• Describe the major community health concerns suggested by the data.
• Explain how environmental factors affect the health of community residents.

Part 2: Health Improvement Plan

Develop a health improvement plan that ethically and effectively addresses the population health concern that you identified in your evaluation of the relevant data.

• Base your plan on the best available evidence from a minimum of 3–5 current scholarly or professional sources.
  • Apply correct APA formatting to all in-text citations and references.
  • Attach a reference list to your plan.
• Ensure that your plan meets the cultural and environmental needs of your community and will likely lead to some improvement in the community’s health related to this concern.
  • Consider the environmental realities and challenges existing in the community.
  • Address potential barriers or misunderstandings related to the various cultures prevalent in the community.
• Justify the value and relevance of the evidence you used as the basis of your plan.
  • Explain why the evidence is valuable and relevant to the community health concern you are addressing.
  • Explain why each piece of evidence is appropriate and informs the goal of improving the health of the community.
• Propose relevant and measurable criteria for evaluating the outcomes of your plan.
  • Explain why your proposed criteria are appropriate and useful measures of success.
• Explain how you will communicate with colleagues and members of the community, in an ethical, culturally sensitive, and inclusive way, with regard to the development and implementation of your plan.
  • Develop a clear communications strategy mindful of the cultural and ethical expectations of colleagues and community members regarding data privacy.
  • Ensure that your strategy enables you to make complex medical terms and concepts understandable to members of the community, regardless of language, disabilities, or level of education.
• The headings for your Evidence-Based Population Health Improvement Plan should be the following:
  • Data Evaluation.
  • Meeting Community Needs.
  • Evidence.
  • Measuring Outcomes.
  • Communication Plan.

Additional Requirements

• Length: Your recommendation will be 4–5 double-spaced pages, not including title and reference pages.
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 points.
• APA Format: Your title and reference pages need to conform to APA format and style guidelines. The body of your paper does not need to conform to APA guidelines. Do make sure that it is clear, persuasive, organized, and well written, without grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors. You also must cite your sources according to APA guidelines.
• Scoring Guide: Please review this assessment’s scoring guide to ensure you understand how your faculty member will evaluate your work.

Grading Rubric:

1.  Evaluate community demographic, epidemiological, and environmental data to diagnose widespread population health issues. 

Passing Grade:  Evaluates community demographic, epidemiological, and environmental data to diagnose widespread population health issues. Identifies knowledge gaps, unknowns, missing information, unanswered questions, or areas of uncertainty (where further information could improve the evaluation). 

2.  Develop an ethical health improvement plan to address a population health issue within a community. 

Passing Grade:   Develops an ethical health improvement plan to address a population health issue within a community, identifying multiple complementary elements that will sensitively meet a wide variety of community members’ needs. 

3.  Justify the value and relevance of evidence used as the basis of a population health improvement plan. 

Passing Grade:  Justifies the value and relevance of evidence used as the basis of a population health improvement plan, and impartially considers conflicting data and other perspectives. 

4.  Propose criteria for evaluating population health improvement plan outcomes. 

Passing Grade:  Proposes criteria for evaluating population health improvement plan outcomes, and explains why other possible criteria were considered and rejected. 

5.  Develop a strategy for communicating with colleagues and community members in an ethical, culturally sensitive, and inclusive way. 

Passing Grade:   Develops a strategy for communicating with colleagues and community members in an ethical, culturally sensitive, and inclusive way; acknowledges potential difficulties and how those challenges will be met. 

6.  Write clearly and logically, with correct grammar and mechanics. 

Passing Grade:   Writes clearly, logically, and persuasively; grammar and mechanics are error-free. 

7.   Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style. 

Passing Grade:   Integrates relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style. Citations are error-free.