Response 4
Questions:

1. Propose how the Delphi Technique can be used to devise a National Guideline to improve patient health outcomes.

2. How do National Guidelines compare to stand-alone articles with regard to practice application?

3. Provide an example to the class of a National Guideline that is currently being used in health care. Discuss how the DNP prepared nurse can influence the process of development and/or application of these guidelines.

One post is written in response to fellow learners’ post and is between 100-150 words. Response is substantive insightful and contain at least one reference.

Students Post:

Delphi Technique

The Delphi technique is used to achieve agreement among experts in the field with a lack of empirical evidence. Delphi technique generally uses a rating system or ranking system using serial survey style questions and feedback and through reassessment until consensus is obtained (Haynes et al., 2016). Delphi techniques can be modified by researchers as a consensus or appraisal method and can be applied to discover public health concerns and the priorities where there is no decisive evidence of effective policies (Haynes et al., 2016). The Delphi technique intends to find the correct responses by repeated survey questions until an agreement or consensus is attained, developing national policies resulting in improved patient outcomes.

National guidelines are established to address a current healthcare issue using extensive discussion and agreement by experts. Policies are defined as “systematically developed statements to assist practitioners, and patients make decisions about appropriate health care for specific circumstances” (“Health Economics and Clinical Practice Guidelines,” 2020) ). Thus, guidelines help stakeholders to make better decisions and are focused on a better outcome for patients. At the same time, standalone articles could be of specific topics and may offer recommendations about the healthcare issue at hand.

National guidelines to preventing obesity among children include screening protocols using BMI and waist to height ratio. The current guidelines by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) include screening for obesity in children over the age of six, intervention if obese, offering healthy diet counseling, behavioral counseling, and encouraging physical activity (Staiano et al., 2016). These interventions should last at least six months and include 25 or more contact hours (Staiano et al., 2016). Other guidelines include increased physical activity, increased consumption of healthy food, limiting screen time.

DNP-prepared nurses are in a unique position to translate policies into practice with their advanced knowledge and leadership. DNP-prepared nurses can create and foster evidence-based practices and create an environment that enables them to develop strategies to implement the techniques. For example, a DNP-prepared nurse who focuses on educating parents regarding reducing childhood obesity can focus on screening to identify targeted populations, provide education regarding childhood obesity, and reduce childhood obesity in the targeted population. In addition, the DNP-prepared nurse is equipped with the knowledge of healthcare policies and thus can advocate for changes in healthcare settings that will positively impact the patient outcome.

References

Haynes, E., Palermo, C., & Reidlinger, D. P. (2016). Modified policy-Delphi study for exploring obesity prevention priorities. BMJ Open, 6(9), e011788. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011788 (Links to an external site.)

Health economics and clinical practice guidelines. (2020). In Clinical practice guidelines in mental health (pp. 37–48). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315375724-10 (Links to an external site.)

Staiano, A. E., Hsia, D. S., & Broyles, S. T. (2016). Obesity screening and treatment: Practices of Louisiana pediatric healthcare providers. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(2), S64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.10.140 (Links to an external site.)