Inappropriate Breastfeeding Tendencies in Breastfeeding Mothers - Essay Example

Inappropriate Breastfeeding Tendencies in Breastfeeding Mothers Inappropriate Breastfeeding Tendencies in Breastfeeding Mothers Breastfeeding is crucial in the life of an infant and its importance cannot be overemphasized. In line with this, the nursing fraternity should play a crucial role in implementing a program that trained and educated pregnant and new mothers about the techniques they should use to breastfeed. In effect, such a program should undergo a rigorous implementation procedure in order for it to become effective. Importantly, the implementation plan should also consist of approaches aimed at evaluating the success of the program and the data collection of the evaluation plan as outlined in this expose. Implementation Plan Overall, the plan will consist of two approaches that the nurses will use to train mothers about breastfeeding techniques. In the first approach, the plan will seek to target pregnant mothers during prenatal care. In this case, nurses will use models of infant babies and train mothers how to breastfeed their babies after giving birth. In addition, the facility will provide pamphlets to pregnant mothers with the information on the importance of breastfeeding and the techniques that mothers should use during breastfeeding. On the other hand, the second approach will target mothers who have delivered babies and they were breastfeeding their babies. In this case, nurses will show these mothers the proper position and latch-on for effective breastfeeding. In addition, the nurses will provide the mothers with information regarding adequate breastfeeding and the approaches that mothers should adopt to prevent the discomfort on the mother and the infant. In order to achieve successful implementation of this program, it is crucial to ensure that the facility identified and allocated the necessary resources to the program. In line with this, the successful implementation of this plan requires models of babies so that mothers can practice with the models on baby positioning and latch-on. In addition, the plan requires one nurse who will undergo training and obtain certification in lactation and breastfeeding with the nurse heading the implementation of this plan. Hence, it is important to allocate financial resources for this function. Conversely, financial resources are crucial in printing the materials and pamphlets that contain information regarding breastfeeding. Monitoring the implementation of the plan is essential in ensuring the effectiveness of the program. Hence, monitoring will entail carrying out an analysis of whether the mothers involved in the program were receiving the appropriate services in the program. Secondly, the process will involve analyzing whether the nurses understood the contents of the program and their roles towards its implementation. Moreover, the monitoring process will involve a determination whether there is sufficient staff to support the implementation. Furthermore, it is essential to determine the allocation and effective use of resources. Finally, monitoring will involve a determination of the participants’ satisfaction with the program (Sprenkle & Piercy, 2005). The eight-step model of action research informed the implementation plan of this program proposed by McNiff (as cited in Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007). In this case, the first step entailed reviewing of current practice, which discovered the aspects that the facility wanted to change, which in this case were the inappropriate breastfeeding tendencies. Thereafter, the third step included imagining a way forward, which led to the development of this program and its consequent implementation. The other step entailed monitoring the program, which preceded the step of modification according to the monitoring process and evaluating the modified action. Finally, the model involves continuous implementation until there is total satisfaction (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007). Loiselle, Mc-Grath, and Polit (2010) noted the criteria for the feasibility of a program as one that eliminates “potential risks of implementation to patients, staff, and the organization” (p.377). In line with this, this program is feasible since it does not pose any risks on any stakeholder in the organization. On the other hand, the resources required to implement this plan will not be of high significance to the facility. Hence, this makes the plan feasible to implement with the support that the nurses are offering to the implementation of the plan making it become more feasible (Loiselle, Mc-Grath, & Polit, 2010). Evaluation Plan The outcome measure will examine the approaches used by mothers to breastfeed their infant babies. In this case, the measure will involve the use of questionnaires to ask mothers questions related to breastfeeding. The content of the questions will enquire about the duration mothers planned to breastfeed, or they breastfed their infant babies, before stopping. In addition, the outcome measure will involve the head project conducting round trips in the maternity ward and observing while recording the techniques that the mothers used to breastfeed their babies. An outcome evaluation has to be reliable, valid, and sensitive to change. In this case, the outcome measure adopted is reliable due to its consistency in providing the same results on each application used in evaluating the program’s success. On the other hand, the measure is reliable since it is easy to gather. On the other hand, the outcome measure is valid since it provides “an accurate indicator of what it is supposed to be measuring” (Royse, Thyer, & Padgett, 2009, p.144). In line with this, the outcome measure evaluated the successful implementation of the program. In addition, the outcome measure is sensitive to change since it focuses on the aspects that contribute to successful implementation while focusing on the changes that have taken place since the implementation of the program. Evaluation Data Collection A questionnaire is the best tool to use to collect outcome measure data. In this regard, the questionnaire will be able to evaluate the change in attitude amongst nurses and their adoption of the program in the healthcare facility. In addition, a questionnaire is essential in evaluating behavior change among the mothers that this program intended to reach. Moreover, items in the questionnaires conceptualize the elements of appropriate breastfeeding. Conversely, observation is an essential method in collecting outcome measure data. In this case, observation will collect data based on a normal setting and identify whether the nurses had trained the nurses effective approaches to breastfeeding. Evaluation requires financial and human resources in order to be effective. In this case, human resources will be crucial in carrying out the filling of the questionnaires in order to collect the outcome evaluation data. In addition, human resources will be useful in collecting outcome measure data through observation. In this case, nurses will make rounds in the maternity ward and identify the approaches and the techniques that mothers used to breastfeed their infants. On the other hand, financial resources are useful in making copies of the questionnaires required to carry out an effective collection of the outcome evaluation data. The outcome evaluation plan is feasible since it will utilize the resources allocated to the program efficiently. In this case, the program has to utilize all the resources allocated to its implementation in a manner that was efficient and effective. On the other hand, the questions in the outcome evaluation plan are not too long to conduct or answer, which makes the questions impose undue burden on the program staff. In effect, the simple nature of these questions makes the evaluation plan feasible (Holden & Zimmerman, 2009). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is one of the grant funding sources that will support the implementation of this program. In this case, AHRQ focuses on improving the health and care of American citizens through translation of research into policy and practice. Hence, AHRQ is one of the organizations that can fund the implementation of the program. On the other hand, the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) will also act as a source of grant in the implementation of this program. In this case, the institute focuses on promoting health and the quality of life amongst the American citizens through research in nursing. References Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research Methods Education 6th ed. New York, NY: Routledge. Holden, D. J., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2009). A Practical Guide to Program Evaluation Planning: Theory and Case Examples. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Loiselle, C. G., McGrath, J. P., Polit, D. F., & Beck, T. C. (2010). Canadian Essentials of Nursing Research. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Royse, D. D., Thyer, B. A., & Padgett, D. K. (2009). Program Evaluation: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Cengage Publishers. Sprenkle, D. H., & Piercy, F. (2005). Research Methods In Family Therapy. New York, NY: Guilford Publishers. Read More