Respond to peers, It is important to support what you say with relevant citations in the APA format from both the course materials and outside resources. Include the South University Online Library in your research activities utilizing not only the nursing resource database, but also those pertaining to education, business, and human resources.

Cym response #1

I will be analyzing polypharmacy in the elderly population. This population is of older people aged 65 years and above, and it is characterized by vulnerability to diseases due to their reducing immune system caused by advancement in age (Eriksson, 2017). Polypharmacy is prevalent with people falling under this category.

Here, we will understand our patients better regarding their situation and why they need to use multiple medications. It is crucial to improve medication appropriateness in compliance with an implicit tool. There is an imperativeness to cut out or cut down on their medication and concentrate on those that have an actual health impact on their long-term condition (Ford & Melnyk, 2019). The Picot also helps scrutinize the problem and seek alternatives, as described below, concerning polypharmacy. What interventions need to be made to improve the health of older patients taking multiple medications?

Diana response #2

A lack of patient education is something that I frequently see in healthcare. I often ask patients why they are taking a certain drug or why they came for their procedure, and often the response I get is, “well Dr. Smith told me I needed to take this medicine or get this procedure.” I try to encourage patients to speak up about any questions they have because it is their right, and that they need to be their own advocate. I want to specifically look at patients with diabetes in a rural area to see the impact of education on their ability to manage their disease process and prevent complications. Afsharnia et al. (2018) looked at the quality of life of males with hypogonadism before and after educational sessions and concluded that providing education allowed the patients to increase their quality of life by understanding ways to manage their disease. This particular study used computer-based learning, which would not likely be appropriate for patients living in rural areas. An additional study I viewed by D’Addario et al. (2015) noted that patients felt that providers did not have time, used terminology that was not understood, and did not involve family or caregivers. As a patient, I too, have felt rushed by providers and I know that it is frustrating for patients.

Problem Statement & Research Purpose
Healthcare is often viewed as a revolving door, patients are brought in and discharged just as quickly. The decreased amount of time providers spend with patients often results in less education about a disease process or medication, which results in poor outcomes for patients. Research has shown better outcomes for patients if they are educated on their specific disease process or procedure. If patients living with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, are provided adequate education on their disease process and medication management, patients will have increased self-management and less likely to suffer complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2020) stated that there are approximately 34.2 million people living with DM and a total of 88 million adults are considered prediabetic. In addition to the prevalence rate of DM, it also has significant impact on healthcare costs. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of educational sessions of the self-management of diabetes for patients living in rural areas.
If patients are well educated on their disease process and medication management, will the patients have increased self-management of diabetes?

P- Diabetic patients living in rural areas.
I- Educational sessions, pre- and post-test administered.
C- Group that does not receive the education but will have access to the same resources.
O- Increased self-efficacy and management of the disease process and complications.
T- Four educational sessions over a two-month period.

Afsharnia, E., Pakgohar, M., Khosravi, S., & Haghani, H. (2018). Examining the effect of the computer-based educational package on quality of life and severity of hypogonadism symptoms in males. Aging Male, 21(2), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 13685538.2017.1401992

Centers for Disease Control. (2020). National diabetes statistics report, 2020.https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics-report/index.html

D’Addario, M., Cappelletti, E., Sarini, M., Greco, A., Monzani, D., Pancani, L., & Steca, P. (2015). Communication and disease management: A qualitative study on coronary disease. Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine, 3(1), 94-108. doi:10.1080/21642850.2015.1026823