Utilizing Nursing Education and Intervention as a Method
Abstract
The practice problem identified is headache sufferers are not adequately getting their headaches controlled. They are utilizing the emergency room for pain control which only gives them immediate control but not long-term control. The emergency rooms are becoming overcrowded. Controlling headache patients pain will help keep them out of the emergency room and help to decrease the overcrowding of the emergency rooms. Controlling the headache pains will also help decrease costs to consumers and the healthcare system. Case managers can help not only educate these patients, but they can increase better continuity of care and be able to provide feedback to the physicians. The better educated these patients are, the less likely they are to go to the emergency room. The practice problem question to be answered is to examine if an education plan along with a plan of care with primary care provider and network, will assist in increasing headache control and ultimately keep these patients out of the emergency rooms. The purpose of this project will be to implement an education protocol for headache patients to evaluate usage of the emergency department for headache pain control. Models that will be useful for this project are Pender’s Health Promotion Model and the Health Belief Model. These models will help to evaluate individuals and how they interact and behave in order to be able to change their behavior and help them to control their headache pain. This protocol can be included for provider’s and case managers within a clinically integrated network so that a greater number of patients can be managed effectively to decrease emergency room visits. The expected results will be this educational protocol will help patients control their headaches better and will assist in decreasing emergency room visits. The implications of this project will include increased control on headaches, decrease emergency room visits from headaches, and better quality of life for headache patients.
