Pre-Operative Education and Psychological Support to Patients Awaiting Heart Surgery

Developing an Evaluation Plan
Student:
Professor:
Course title:
Date:
Developing an Evaluation Plan
Methods of evaluating effectiveness of proposed solution
In this project, an intervention that entails providing pre-operative education and psychological support will be provided to patients awaiting cardiac/heart surgery in order to reduce pre-operative mood disorders as well as post-operative pain. Therefore, one method for evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed solution involves assessing the levels of patient mood disorders before and after the proposed intervention (Berg et al., 2009). This means that the proposed solution would be seen as effective if the patient's levels of pre-operative anxiety, stress and depression are lower after the intervention compared to how the levels were before the surgery. However, if the levels would have increased or stayed the same, then the proposed solution would not be considered as effective.
The other method will entail assessing the pain of the patient after the cardiac/heart surgery. Mood disorders including stress, anxiety, and depression are common in patients who are waiting to undergo this surgery and these mood disorders are known to increase the patient's post-operative pain (Harkness et al., 2010). Therefore, the patient will be examined a few days after the surgical operation to determine if the patient has any pain. If the patient experiences much pain following the surgical operation, then the intervention would be seen as ineffective. However, if the patient does not feel pain after the surgery, then the intervention would be considered to have been effective.
Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed solution would be evaluated by examining the patients a few days after the surgery to determine if there are any incidences of morbidity post-operatively. If the patients develop post-operative morbidity, the proposed solution would be seen as ineffective, otherwise, it would be considered as effective. It is notable that besides reducing mood disorders, the proposed solution is also meant to reduce post-operative morbidity.
Variables to be assessed when evaluating outcomes of the project
Perceptions and attitudes of staff members: this variable is imperative bearing in mind that successful implementation and effectiveness of the proposed change depends partly on the way the hospital staffs perceive and view it. If the staffs at the hospital have a positive attitude toward the proposed change, then the proposed change has a high likelihood of being successful. It is also important that they have an agreeing and supportive perception, as this will decrease the chances of them being in opposition to the proposed change (Goodman, 2009). Moreover, having a positive attitude and a confirmatory perception will ensure that the hospital's staff members do not thwart the project's implementation. Conversely, the employees at the healthcare organization may thwart the project's successful implementation if they actually do not have a positive attitude and a confirmatory perception toward the proposed change (Goodman, 20009). As such, the perception and attitude of the staffs is a crucial variable.
Perceptions and attitudes of cardiac surgery pati...