Dissemination strategies assist in distributing information, and intervention of materials to a specific public health or clinical practice audience, intending to spread knowledge (Quality, 2019)

Dissemination strategies assist in distributing information, and intervention of materials to a specific public health or clinical practice audience, intending to spread knowledge (Quality, 2019). These strategies help educate our communities in a manner explicitly targeted to their needs, education levels, and experience. It helps to improve the reach of evidence by expanding its audience, motivating the recipients, and enhancing the ability to use and apply the evidence. If materials are not tailored to a recipient’s needs, they may never receive the information, or it will be communicated in a manner they cannot comprehend. Either of these situations is a disservice to our recipients and community, as our attempt at education on specific and vital topics would end there. As nurse researchers, we must appreciate the potential impacts we can have on study participants, patient populations, community organizations, and policy organizations (Hagan, Schmidt, Ackison, Murphy, & Jones, 2017).

I would likely use two dissemination strategies: unit-level and podium presentations at local levels. Unit-level presentations would benefit my practice as I am the only office member with any prior hospice experience, so everything they know about end-of-life care has been learned at our office. Many of our employees need more exposure to how other companies manage their patients, which gives them little insight into different methods to manage their caseload, symptom management, navigating difficult conversations, and managing relationships with our referral sources. My prior work experience and exposure have helped me excel in my leadership position while encouraging me to return to school for my MSN. I share my experiences with other hospices and my staff to blend our beliefs, culture, and work habits to make the best possible patient outcomes while encouraging a work-life balance for our employees. I correlate this lack of exposure to someone who stays in one city their entire life and does not get to benefit from new experiences, cultures, and communities to promote growth. Combining experience with evidence-based practice can provide education and further understanding while promoting our patients’ better quality of life. This strategy can allow providers to share their experiences and participate in training and education programs (Schipper, Bakker, de Wit, Ket, & Abma, 2018). Barriers that should be considered are that my peers feel their experiences are not as meaningful or they think they can’t contribute to the conversation due to their lack of knowledge. Every employee has come to our practice with a unique skill set, which is embraced and should always be shared with our team to promote growth. However, if the tone of the conversation doesn’t come across with sincerity, it will not be effective and could cause them to shut down.

The other strategy that I am most likely to use would be podium presentations at local levels. In my practice, our primary referral source is a local community hospital, which provides an average of half of our monthly referrals and allows us to care for distressing terminal patients on a GIP or general inpatient level of care. My office and this hospital have a healthy, positive, and efficient working relationship, allowing us to roll out our palliative care program there. However, despite our constant interactions, education could be done to reinforce what hospice care is when it is appropriate to make a referral and the expectations of hospice care in the hospital setting. A GIP level of care is required to manage acute pain and other symptoms that can’t be addressed in different locations; and has to be initiated when other efforts to control symptoms are ineffective (Organization, 2022). Evidence-based practice can help improve the patient’s quality of care, encourage earlier referrals to end-of-life care, and promote comfortable deaths for our mutual patients. Suppose we combine evidence-based practice with our personal experiences with the hospital. In that case, we can explain and support the reasoning for recommendations for better patient outcomes with specific instances in mind. I genuinely enjoy sharing my passion about hospice care, educating our community about the benefits of it, and striving to improve patients’ and caregivers’ lives with our services.

I am least likely to use two presentations: poster presentations and any information through recorded messages like video or radio. Both presentation methods feel so informal when hospice is such a personal thing. Interactive experiences in person can provide more insight, show compassion and humility, and make things more relatable. Limited information can be given through a poster presentation, which can distract and distract from the education and message we are trying to convey. Education could be supplemented at the end with educational resource tools they could go home with, but to make it the center of the presentation is something I wouldn’t be initially drawn to. Hospice is intimate and vulnerable as we discuss patients’ end-of-life care, which can’t always be expressed through these education methods. Methods such as recorded messages also don’t allow participation, and if a participant isn’t engaged because they are distracted by what is happening around them, nothing beneficial occurs.

References

Hagan, T. L., Schmidt, K., Ackison, G. R., Murphy, M., & Jones, J. R. (2017, June 26). Not the Last Word: Dissemination Strategies for Patient-Centered Research in Nursing. Journal of Research in Nursing, 22(5), 388-402. doi:10.1177/1744987117709516

Organization, N. H. (2022, February). National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Retrieved July 24, 2023, from GIP Compliance Guide: https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/NHPCO_GIP_Compliance_Guide.pdf

Quality, A. F. (2019, December). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved July 24, 2023, from Communication and Dissemination Strategies to Facilitate the Use of Health-Related Evidence: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/medical-evidence-communication/research-protocol#:~:text=Dissemination%20strategies%20aim%20to%20spread,patients%20and%20health%20care%20providers

Schipper, K., Bakker, M., de Wit, M., Ket, J. C., & Abma, T. A. (2018, June 7). Strategies for Disseminating Recommendations or Guidelines to Patients: A Systematic Review. Implement Science, 11(82), 1-17. doi:10.1186/s13012-016-0447-x