Sample Selection and Application
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Sample Selection and Application
Sentinel City is a virtual neighborhood that has all the characteristics of a real-life city including the presence of people from culturally diverse backgrounds. The residents also vary in gender, age, and income levels. Furthermore, the city faces several health challenges including poverty, lack of health insurance, and high risk of chronic illnesses although the severity of these challenges varies from one area of the city to another. The purpose of this assignment is to determine the specific neighborhoods in Sentinel City that would be most appropriate for studying the four main populations: geriatric, pediatric, South East Asians, and people living in poverty. The paper will also describe an evidence-based intervention for one population and include a PICO model for the intervention.
Sample Selection
A sample refers to a group of items, objects, or people obtained from a larger population. When conducting research about specific populations, it is important to ensure that the selected sample fully represents the characteristics of the population to promote generalizability of findings. The sampling process is a technique used to select a population subset (Elfil & Negida, 2017). The research process for Sentinel City is sampling dependent in that it entails navigating through the city, identifying groups of people living in specific areas, and selecting an area which has the highest number of a specific population which will be the best fit for studying the population for generalizability purposes. The main populations that are to be studied in Sentinel City include geriatrics, people living in poverty South East Asians, and pediatrics. Navigating through the four areas of the city and obtaining information about each population including demographic information is essential for sample selection.
The neighborhood that reflects the best fit for the geriatric population is Acer Tech Center since it has the highest percentage of older adults in comparison to Industrial Heights, Casper Park District, and Nightingale Square. People aged 65 and above represent 19.8 percent of the population in Acer Tech Center. The Industrial Heights Neighborhood is the best fit for studying people living in poverty since the area has the lowest median household income ($24,672) in comparison to Nightingale Square ($269,550), Acer Tech Center ($166,300), and Casper Park District ($80,134). Industrial Heights also has the highest number of people with no health insurance at 37.5 percent in comparison to 0.7 percent for Nightingale Square, 1.5 percent for Acer Tech Center, and 22.7 percent for Casper Park District. Poverty is linked to the inability to afford health insurance. The area also has high neighborhood and city-wide crime rates in addition to high homelessness rate in comparison to other neighborhoods. Common complaints among tenants include factory smoke, noise, loitering, police activity, and noise which are indicators of poverty.
Casper Park District is the best fit for studying the pediatric population since the area has the highest number of people below five years at 10.9 percent in comparison to Nightingale Square (2.4 percent) and Acer Tech Center (4.1 percent). Casper Park District also has the highest number of people below 18 years at 33.8 percent in comparison to Industrial Heights (20.8 percent), Nightingale Square (5.9 percent), and Acer Tech Center (7.0 percent). Nightingale Square is the best fit for studying South East Asians since the area has the highest number of Asians and Asian-owned firms.
Inter-Professional EBP Guidelines and Outcomes for the Geriatric Population
The main senior living unit options available for the elderly people living in Sentinel City include senior living centers, independent senior apartment units, assisted living centers, nursing home units, long-term care, and skilled nursing care. Other services include transportation, elder abuse protection, government entitlement assistance, service animals, meals on wheels, and medical care advocates. A very small percentage of seniors utilize services available to them. The main aim of intervening with the population is to promote better quality of life for the elderly through effective utilization of available services, lifestyle changes, and effective disease management.
The selected EBP practice intervention for the elderly population is health promotion through health education. According to CDC (2020), age is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, arthritis, diabetes, dementia, and diabetes. These illnesses increase the risk of disability, reduce the quality of life for the geriatric population, and result in deaths. In Sentinel City, most deaths are caused by cardiovascular illnesses, heart disease, and malignant neoplasms. The main purpose of health education for the elderly would be to improve health literacy, encourage early screening and diagnosis for chronic illnesses, promote effective management for those diagnosed with these illnesses, and encourage lifestyle changes including physical activity and dietary changes. The older adults should also be aware of all health-related services available to them. As per Schapmire et al. (2018), health education for the elderly should incorporate several healthcare professionals including nurses, physicians, dietitians, social workers, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. All these professionals help to address complex care needs required among the elderly hence effective collaboration would improve health outcomes.
Implementation in Acer Tech Center
Health education will be implemented in Acer Tech Center by first assessing the learning needs of the elderly. According to Kim and Oh (2020), advanced age is linked to decline in cognitive and sensory functioning which affects learning abilities. Psychosocial assessment is also necessary to determine each individual’s ability to implement interventions addressed in the health education. It is also important to assess the stage of change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action stage, and maintenance) for each individual and to adjust the education process based on the identified stage. As per Chiu et al. (2020), the principles that should be followed when developing the health education plan include flexibility, functionality, and practicability of the recommended interventions. Teaching strategies should be patient-centered in that they should be based on individual abilities, lifestyle, and needs.
All individuals who will implement the intervention will undergo training to ensure that they are equipped with the required communication skills and materials required to engage effectively with a diverse elderly population. The implementation team must be multidisciplinary due to a variety of healthcare needs among the population. All information should be presented at a slow rate and all the patients should be provided with adequate time to understand the material. Appropriate education material including posters with minimal words and use of graphics and images should also be used. In some cases, group teaching may be used especially among patients staying in senior living units and those with similar healthcare issues such as those diagnosed with diabetes. Furthermore, since the population of Acer Tech includes minority population groups such as Hispanics, it is important to use linguistically and culturally appropriate education materials.
Outcome Evaluation
The effectiveness of the intervention will be assessed by determining if there are any changes in skills, knowledge, and attitudes about health using strategies such as interviews and observations. It would also be important to assess if health education would improve utilization of elderly services such as community centers and medical care advocates in Acer Tech Center. Furthermore, changes in disease management including self-management abilities and lifestyle changes will also be evaluated among patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses.
PICO Model
• Patient/population:
The population of focus is the elderly population living in Acer Tech Center.
• Intervention:
The main intervention is health education for the elderly population.
• Comparison:
The intervention outcomes will be compared to baseline health knowledge, attitudes, and skills among the elderly before the intervention was implemented.
• Outcomes:
The desired outcomes include improved health literacy, increased knowledge on lifestyle interventions and disease management, and increased knowledge on available elderly services and the importance of utilizing them.
The elderly population varies with regard to health status, physical abilities and functioning, and financial status hence the health education plan should be flexible for reassessment based on individual needs. Additionally, the plan should incorporate learning strategies for mentally-ill patients and those with sensory deficits.
Conclusion
The different neighborhoods in Sentinel City have different demographic characteristics. Acer Tech Center is the best fit for studying the geriatric population, Casper Park District is the best for studying the pediatric population, Industrial Heights is the best for studying people living in poverty, while the Nightingale Square is the best fit for the South East Asian population. The selected EBP intervention for the geriatric population is health education to improve utilization of elderly services and enhance knowledge on lifestyle interventions, importance of early screening and diagnosis, and effective management of chronic illnesses.
References
CDC. (2020). Promoting Health for Older Adults. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/promoting-health-for-older-adults.htm.
Chiu, C., Hu, J., Lo, Y., & Chang, E. (2020). Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Interventions for the Elderly: A Scoping Review from 2015–2019. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15), 5335. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155335
Elfil, M., & Negida, A. (2017). Sampling methods in Clinical Research; an Educational Review. Emergency (Tehran, Iran), 5(1), e52.
Kim, M., & Oh, S. (2020). Nurses’ Perspectives on Health Education and Health Literacy of Older Patients. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6455. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186455
Schapmire, T., Head, B., Nash, W., Yankeelov, P., Furman, C., & Wright, R. (2018). Overcoming barriers to interprofessional education in gerontology: the Interprofessional Curriculum for the Care of Older Adults. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, Volume 9, 109-118. https://doi.org/10.2147/amep.s149863