Assessment 1 of CAP
Summary of the Problem
Depression is a common mental illness that manifests itself in persistently depressed moods and loss of interest in most activities, accompanied by impairments in daily functioning. More than 280 million people worldwide suffer from it, while in the United States, it affects about 8.4% of adults every year (World Health Organization, 2021). Depression often causes a ripple effect, where the impacts are felt not only by the individual but also by the family members. In some cases, strained relationships and emotional exhaustion occur: Assessment 1 of CAP.
Family dynamics can deteriorate because the members find it difficult to support each other while trying to handle the challenges of this condition. Addressing depression is very important in improving individual and family well-being, as untreated depression may lead to serious consequences such as self-harm or suicide.
Patient, Family, or Group Identification
In this practicum, I will work with a family whose mother has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). It also partially impacts her teenage children and spouse, who often get frustrated and powerless to assist. This family was selected because their members agreed to be involved in the interventions, and they are motivated to improve the relationships within the family.
Context and Significance
Family depression brings multidimensional challenges: emotional stress, financial burdens, and disturbances in daily routines. The affected individual often feels worthless and isolated, while family members may feel guilty, frustrated, or burnt out. This topic is critical to me as a BSN-prepared nurse, as mental health concerns come under the holistic care model at the heart of nursing. This will enable me to focus on this family and apply evidence-based strategies to facilitate recovery and improve family dynamics.
Analyze Evidence from Peer-Reviewed Literature
Guiding Nursing Actions
Studies have defined family-centered approaches as being very relevant in the treatment of depression. Specifically, Sp et al. (2020) established that the treatments identified to influence depression outcomes substantially include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as interpersonal therapy (IPT). Psychoeducation and counseling aimed at families increase awareness regarding patients’ need to be sensitive to families and improve the families’ functioning. Such approaches offer reference models of how nursing interventions occur in partnerships to meet the needs of persons and families.
Reliability of Data
However, it is crucial to identify that the issue is composed of disparate data, appropriately collected, that could be utilized for effective intervention. Sources that include scientific journals like the Journal of Clinical Nursing contain credible, validated materials because of the checks from reviewers, as highlighted by Oermann et al. (2021). However, sources that do not pass a degree of methodological transparency or peer review should be scrutinized for bias and inaccuracy.
Barriers to Evidence-Based Practice
The challenges experienced in the application of research-based practice for depression include lack of access to treatment, mental health and productivity stigmas, and financial issues. There is a family-related problem in terms of compliance because many families did not receive adequate education to support the child to continue adhering to the treatment plan. Such barriers can be overcome only with the help of concentrated efforts in the framework of concerned community programs, augmenting funding for mental health services, and, most notably, policy-aimed initiatives to decrease prejudice.
Effectiveness of Standards and Policies
Nursing standards, such as those developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA), emphasize holistic and evidence-based approaches to depression management. Policies promoting integrated mental health care have been very influential in improving outcomes while significantly reducing hospital readmissions among people affected by depression, as established by Wissow et al. (2020). As stated, standards and policies guide all nurses in rendering holistic, patient-centered care where each patient and their family’s well-being is prioritized.
Nursing Theory or Conceptual Framework
The Roy Adaptation Model is especially applicable to this practicum. This theory focuses on adapting individuals and families to the life changes precipitated by health challenges. In applying this model to families who are impacted by depression, the important focus is to promote resiliency through supportive nursing interventions that enhance positive family coping mechanisms (Callis, 2020).
Policy Implications and Standards
State Board Standards and Policies
State nursing practice standards provide a critical framework for shaping care for families affected by depression. Standards have called for culturally competent, patient-centered approaches congruent with evidence-based practices. For example, Minnesota’s Board of Nursing calls for the integration of mental health care into primary health services to bring mental illness to the level of the community.
Policy Effectiveness
Such policies as the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act have considerably increased access to mental health services, requiring insurance coverage of mental health conditions on equal terms to those of physical health conditions. Much research has indicated that the policies enhance early intervention efforts, decrease treatment disparities, and improve long-term outcomes for patients and their families (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2023).
Nurses in Policy Making
Nurses are critical policy advocates who can shape mental health challenges. They bring unique perspectives to the policy debate through direct contact with patients and families. For example, Zhang et al. (2022) note that nurse-driven initiatives in schools have increased teenagers’ access to counseling services, showing a sharp reduction in cases of depression going untreated.
Legislation and Scope of Practice
State and federal policies like Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have opened up new spheres in practice, and nurses have come to the forefront of mental health. These expansions have allowed nurses to champion change in increasing mental health service delivery and demystifying the condition of families struggling with depression.
Leadership Strategies
Proposed Strategies
Leadership strategies for handling depression within family contexts are essential. Transformational leadership is incredibly efficient in creating a cooperative, supportively organized atmosphere focused on people’s encouragement and desire to change. Nurse leaders understand and facilitate education on mental health and the integration of evidence-based practice to address change in families and communities.
Effectiveness of Strategies
The meta-analysis reveals developmental outcomes of mental health and the role of the transformational leadership style. For instance, Ystaas et al. (2023) have shown that this approach helps nurse leaders prepare to practice innovative approaches to care and involve families in the recovery phase. Effective leadership fosters trust, ensures motivation, and encourages cooperation, all of which are essential for eradicating depression among families.
Anticipated Leadership Role
As a leader, I strive to ensure that mental health support is readily available to every family member, enhance the interpersonal communication between these supportive resources, and ensure that the environment within families is healthy and welcoming. This leadership corresponds with my responsibilities as it moves forward the advancement of patient care and total well-being.
Collaboration and Communication Strategies
Proposed Strategies
Collaboration with mental health professionals, social workers, and community organizations is essential in addressing depression. Besides, effective communication strategies, such as active listening, empathetic language, and visual aids, will help convey complex information and, in the process, gain the trust of the families. Technology, such as telehealth platforms, can also enhance communication and ensure continuity of care.
Anticipated Barriers
Stigma, language differences, and resistance may become possible barriers to collaboration and communication. It is possible to remove such barriers with the help of culturally sensitive approaches, adequate patient education, and regular family engagement.
Required Strategies
Subsequently, in the implementation of interventions targeting depression in families, change management strategies are very critical. Kotter’s Change Model emphasizes creating urgency, building coalitions, and celebrating short-term wins and provides a structured framework for driving change (Graves et al., 2023). Involvement of family members in the planning process and illustration of the benefits accruable from proposed interventions are key to creating acceptance and commitment.
Expected Challenges
Some common barriers to changing family dynamics are resistance from members, limited resources, and stigma. Such barriers call for persistence, flexibility, and clear highlighting of the benefits that interventions would bring to the family’s well-being.
Part 2: Document Practicum Hours
During this practicum, I spent two hours with the family, discussing the impact of depression on their daily lives and exploring potential interventions. Observations showed that this family has poor communication and lacks knowledge of available resources for mental health. This session helped me understand their needs and inform my approach to developing a tailored care plan. These interactions were documented in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
Conclusion
Depression affects people and their loved ones, and therefore, treatment requires multi-disciplinary and person-centered models of care. This means a core priority for improving the care of families with depression will require leadership, evidence-based practices, and policy-making that involves the nurses. Thus, this practicum experience emphasized that the issues with mental health need to be solved considering the family as a unit, which proves the possibility of positive changes when performing nursing interventions.
References
Callis, A. M. (2020). Application of the roy adaptation theory to a care program for nurses. Applied Nursing Research, 56(151340). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2020.151340
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023, September 6). The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) | CMS. Www.cms.gov. https://www.cms.gov/marketplace/private-health-insurance/mental-health-parity-addiction-equity
Graves, L., Dalgarno, N., Hoorn, R. V., Truelove, A. H., Mulder, J., Kolomitro, K., Kirby, F., & Wylick, R. van. (2023). Creating change: Kotter’s change management model in action. Canadian Medical Education Journal, 14(3). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10351637/
Oermann, M. H., Wrigley, J., Nicoll, L. H., Ledbetter, L. S., Carter-Templeton, H., & Edie, A. H. (2021). Integrity of databases for literature searches in nursing. Advances in Nursing Science, 44(2), 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000349
Sp, C., Dp, K., & Mr, H. (2020, January 1). Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29261869/
Wissow, L. S., Platt, R., & Sarvet, B. (2020). Policy recommendations to promote integrated mental health care for children and youth. Academic Pediatrics, 34(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.08.014
World Health Organization. (2021). Depression. Www.who.int. https://www.who.int/health-topics/depression
Ystaas, L. M. K., Nikitara, M., Ghobrial, S., Latzourakis, E., Polychronis, G., & Constantinou, C. S. (2023). The Impact of Transformational Leadership in the Nursing Work Environment and Patients’ outcomes: a Systematic Review. Nursing Reports, 13(3), 1271–1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13030108
Zhang, Q., Wang, J., & Neitzel, A. (2022). School-based mental health interventions targeting depression or anxiety: A meta-analysis of rigorous randomized controlled trials for school-aged children and adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01684-4
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Question 
In a 5–7 page written assessment, define the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Assess the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective. Plan to spend approximately 2 direct practicum hours meeting with a patient, family, or group of your choice to explore the problem and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
Introduction
This assessment lays the foundation for the work that will carry you through your capstone experience and guide the practicum hours needed to complete the work in this course. In addition, it will enable you to do the following:
- Develop a problem statement for a patient, family, or population that’s relevant to your practice.
- Begin building a body of evidence that will inform your approach to your practicum.
- Focus on the influence of leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy on the problem.
Preparation
In this assessment, you’ll assess the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Plan to spend approximately 2 hours working with a patient, family, or group of your choice to explore the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective. During this time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry experts about the problem (for example, directors of quality or patient safety, nurse managers/directors, physicians, and epidemiologists).
To prepare for the assessment, complete the following:
- Identify the patient, family, or group you want to work with during your practicum. The patient you select can be a friend or a family member. You’ll work with this patient, family, or group throughout your capstone project, focusing on a specific health care problem.
- Begin surveying the scholarly and professional literature to establish your evidence and research base, inform your assessment, and meet scholarly expectations for supporting evidence.
In addition, you may wish to complete the following:
- Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you’ll be asked to complete and how it will be assessed.
- Review the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 1 [PDF] Download Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 1 [PDF], which provides guidance for conducting this portion of your practicum.
Note: As you revise your writing, check out the resources listed on the Writing Center’s Writing Support page.
Instructions
Complete this assessment in two parts.
Part 1
- Use Assessment 01 Supplement: Assessing the Problem: Leadership, Collaboration, Communication, Change Management, and Policy Considerations [PDF] to define the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Assess the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective and establish your evidence and research base to plan, implement, and share findings related to your project.
Part 2
- Connect with the patient, family, or group you’ll work with during your practicum. During this portion of your practicum, plan to spend at least 2 hours meeting with the patient, family, or group and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts of your choice. The hours you spend meeting with them should take place outside of regular work hours.Use the Practicum Focus Sheet [PDF] provided for this assessment to guide your work and interpersonal interactions. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
Requirements
The assessment requirements, outlined below, correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, note the additional requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.
- Define a patient, family, or population health problem that’s relevant to your practice.
- Summarize the problem you’ll explore.
- Identify the patient, family, or group you intend to work with during your practicum.
- Provide context, data, or information that substantiates the presence of the problem and its significance and relevance to the patient, family, or population.
- Explain why this problem is relevant to your practice as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse.
- Analyze evidence from peer-reviewed literature and professional sources that describes and guides nursing actions related to the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined.
- Note whether the authors provide supporting evidence from the literature that’s consistent with what you see in your nursing practice.
- Explain how you would know if the data are unreliable.
- Describe what the literature says about barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice in addressing the problem you’ve defined.
- Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of nursing standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population outcomes for this problem.
- Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy making to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital readmissions.
- Describe what the literature says about a nursing theory or conceptual framework that might frame and guide your actions during your practicum.
- Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies could affect the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined.
- Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of these standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population outcomes for this problem.
- Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy making to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital readmissions.
- Describe the effects of local, state, and federal policies or legislation on your nursing scope of practice, within the context of this problem.
- Propose leadership strategies to improve outcomes, patient-centered care, and the patient experience related to the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined.
- Discuss research on the effectiveness of leadership strategies.
- Define the role that you anticipate leadership must play in addressing the problem.
- Describe collaboration and communication strategies that you anticipate will be needed to address the problem.
- Describe the change management strategies that you anticipate will be required to address the problem.
- Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
- Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
- Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Additional Requirements
- Format: Format your paper using APA style. APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is provided to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
- A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
- Appropriate section headings.
- Length: Your paper should be approximately 5–7 pages in length, not including the reference page.
- Supporting evidence: Cite at least five sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your central ideas. Resources should be no more than five years old. Provide in-text citations and references in APA format.
- Proofreading: Proofread your paper, before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on its substance.
Capella Academic Portal
Complete the NURS-FPX4900 Volunteer Experience Form in Capella Academic Portal. Include a description of your relationship to the patient, family, or group in the Volunteer Experience comments field.
The BSN Capstone Course (NURS-FPX4900 ) requires the completion and documentation of nine (9) practicum hours. All hours must be recorded in the Capella Academic Portal. Please review the BSN Practicum Campus page for more information and instructions on how to log your hours.
Context
Nurses in all professional roles work to effect positive patient outcomes and improve organizational processes. Professional nurses are leaders in problem identification, planning, and strategy implementation—skills that directly affect patient care or organizational effectiveness.
Too often, change agents jump to a conclusion that an intervention will promote the envisioned improvement. Instead, the ideal approach is to determine which interventions are appropriate, based on an assessment and review of credible evidence. Interventions could be patient-facing or involve a change in policy and process. In this assessment, you’ll identify and make the case for your practicum focus area, then explore it in depth from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective.
Assessment 1 of CAP
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 1: Lead people and processes to improve patient, systems, and population outcomes.
- Define a patient, family, or population health problem that’s relevant to personal and professional practice.
- Competency 2: Make clinical and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence.
- Analyze evidence from peer-reviewed literature and professional sources that describes and guides nursing actions related to a defined patient, family, or population problem.
- Competency 5: Analyze the impact of health policy on quality and cost of care.
- Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies could affect a defined patient, family, or population problem.
- Competency 7: Implement patient-centered care to improve quality of care and the patient experience.
- Propose leadership strategies to improve outcomes, patient-centered care, and the patient experience related to a defined patient, family, or population problem and document the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
- Competency 8: Integrate professional standards and values into practice.
- Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
- Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.