Kurt Lewin’s Change Theory: Prevention Of Readmission

Change Theory Name Institution Date Kurt Lewin’s change theory- regarding patient education upon discharge about disease processes to prevent readmission and empower patients Introduction Planned change is necessary in nursing practice and can help achieve the desired outcomes, but implementing changes is also challenging and there is a need to consider the factors that influence change. Kurt Lewin’s change theory is one change framework that posits that successful planned change depends on three steps: unfreezing a condition followed by transitioning (moving) and refreezing into the new condition (Batras, Duff & Smith, 2016). Kurt Lewin’s change theory is applicable in Long-Term Acute Care (LTAC) to influence change when there is patient education upon discharge about disease processes to prevent readmission and empower the patients. Kurt Lewin’s Model After discharge, it is possible to measure patient satisfaction and the effectiveness of health interventions during follow up. Lewin’s model of change involves facilitating change. Lewin highlighted that situations and systems ought to be viewed as a whole where change is possible, the system is unfreezed and there is a challenge to the status quo (Batras, Duff & Smith, 2016). The forces propelling change ought to be stronger than the resistant forces for there to be effective transition into the second phase of the model (Manchester et al., 2014). When this occurs, it is possible for the new behaviors to become the norm in the refreezing and there is a new stationary equilibrium. When there is permanence of changes, it is unlikely that patients will revert to the old practices. Application and concepts of the change theory There is a need to reduce readmission and empower patients after discharge and patient education is one of the strategies to enhance this. Focusing on the driving forces and restraining forces that affect implementation of changes will improve self care behaviors after patient education to support changes. The driving forces are associated with the need to improve patient outcome, reduce knowledge deficiency among patients and support the nurses’ role in patient education. It is expected that there will be higher standards of care when Lewin’s model is used to support changes as the quality of patient education affects self-management. Nonetheless, there are restraining forces among those who support changes especially those who do not see them as worthwhile (Batras, Duff & Smith, 2016). Additionally, the lack...