Introduction
The PICOT question on which the project is based is, “In pregnant African American women (P), will an educational program (I) compared to no education (C) increase the rate of breastfeeding (O) over three months (T)?” The essay will discuss the strengths and barriers to the successful implementation of the intervention. Also, the journal entry will include the analysis of the project’s effect on workflows, the funds needed, and critical milestones.
Strengths and Barriers to the Success of the Change
There are several obstacles that may hinder the successful implementation of this project. The first one refers to the low access of the selected target group to healthcare facilities and educational materials. Compared to white women, African American ones constitute a vulnerable group. According to Ware, Webb, and Levy (2014), the disparities in the rates of breastfeeding between the two mentioned population groups are “especially pronounced” in some states (p. 385). The expected strength in this respect is preparing effective educational materials, which would encourage women to rethink their breastfeeding decisions. The project leader could do this by analyzing the rate of literacy among pregnant African American women in the area and choosing the most suitable materials for the intervention.
Other barriers on the part of those involved in the study include pain, concerns about going back to work, and the embarrassment with public breastfeeding. Additionally, kohanlow-income status constitutes a problem in many cases (Srinivas, Benson, Worley, & Schulte, 2015; Ware et al., 2014). It is possible to overcome each of these obstacles by creating a friendly and supportive atmosphere for the participants both at hospital and at their homes. Family-focused care in this area has proved to give positive results (England, 2017). Therefore, the change team members should arrange a channel of communication with the participants’ families or significant others to promote supportive attitudes.
The next obstacle that may hinder the implementation of the change is the incompetency of breastfeeding services. As Heidari, Keshvari, and Kohan (2016) remark, many women tend to feel distrust toward healthcare personnel. The most viable strength in this respect is the arrangement of a positive and trusting environment during the intervention. When the participants and their families realize how caring and attentive the medical personnel and the change team are, they will feel relaxed and willing to receive proper education on breastfeeding and utilize it upon giving birth.
The Impact of the Change on Workflows and Processes
The change leader does not expect the intervention to affect any processes or workflows in a negative way. All of the team members know their responsibilities, and the administration allowed lowering their workload for the time of the project. The schedule of the project will help to assess whether the change team is coping with its responsibilities. To eliminate alterations of other healthcare employees’ schedules during the project, the team leader will hold a meeting with registered nurses and nursing managers to negotiate the timetable. As a result, all processes and procedures will likely pass without any harm to the facility’s workflow.
The only change regarding processes will relate to the use of electronic health records (EHRs). According to England (2017), the use of EHRs helps to record breastfeeding practices. Since for the majority of the women participating in the study, breastfeeding seems to be associated with barriers, it will be useful to record how their perceptions have altered during the program. Based on additional records in EHRs pertaining to the project, both current and future endeavors in this direction will pass with fewer complications.
Support and Availability of Funds
The successful implementation of change depends not only on the participants’ level of responsiveness but also on the availability of meeting financial needs. There are several categories of expenses involved in the preparation and implementation of the project. First of all, it will be necessary to pay for the extra time spent by the change team working on the project. All of the team members will be healthcare specialists working at the hospital. However, they will have to work extra hours to make everything ready for the successful start and flow of the change. Thus, their hours of overworking will have to be justified financially.
Other types of costs involved include equipment, photocopying, and technology. These funds are closely interrelated since they presuppose the use of modern equipment to prepare the educational materials, copy them for the participants, and make changes to the EHRs to reflect the effect of change. The project leader expects that the hospital administration will agree to cover the expenses since the suggested intervention is highly significant for the promotion of society’s well-being in the long run. In case the project proves successful, it will be necessary to disseminate findings, so the project leader might require some additional costs on publication.
Critical Milestones and Related Tasks
There are several critical milestones to reach in the process of change. The first one is the collection of data to be included in the educational material set. The tasks included in this milestone are analyzing the evidence-based information on breastfeeding practices and singling out the most effective ones. The project group must complete these tasks before the start of the project, so the time allocated to them is four weeks before the intervention. Additionally, this phase will incorporate the consideration of possible barriers and the search for solutions to them.
Another significant milestone is the enrolment of participants and the division of the sample into the referent and intervention groups. These tasks will be completed within the same time frame as the first milestone. The third milestone is the project implementation, which will last for three months and incorporate such tasks as educating the participants. The fourth milestone will involve the analysis of data obtained, which will take three weeks. The fifth milestone, results’ dissemination, will be optional since it will depend on the outcomes. If the project is successful, the project leader will arrange findings and publish an article within two months.
References
England, S. (2017). The progress of breastfeeding support programs in the Indian health service. Breastfeeding Medicine, 12(8), 487–488. Web.
Heidari, Z., Keshvari, M., & Kohan, S. (2016). Breastfeeding promotion, challenges and barriers: A qualitative research. International Journal of Pediatrics, 4(5), 1687–1685.
Srinivas, G. L., Benson, M., Worley, S., & Schulte, E. (2015). A clinic-based breastfeeding peer counselor intervention in an urban, low-income population. Journal of Human Lactation, 31(1), 120–128. Web.
Ware, J. L., Webb, L., & Levy, M. (2014). Barriers to breastfeeding in the African American population of Shelby County, Tennessee. Breastfeeding Medicine, 9(8), 385–392. Web.