Organizational Needs Assessment

PRACTICE PROBLEM 4

This paper can serve to have an idea of my project topic and ideas for that, but feel free to modify or add whatever you find pertinent. Not all the information is needed for this specific work, but it is included to provide more details.

Practice Issues in a clinic of STD Prevention and Treatment.

I'm collaborating with a clinic specializing in the prevention and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) in Miami, Florida, and I want to focus my project on the problems of this clinic. At the practicum location, I had the opportunity to speak with relevant stakeholders and decision-makers, that include: the front desk team, medical providers, clinical manager, the clinic owner, clinical case manager, clinical administrator, patient appointment coordinators, medical practitioners, and some members of the local community. I was able to identify and discuss issues affecting the clinical health outcomes of STDs preventative and treatment activities. One of the issues is that despite the multiple calls and all the efforts done by the clinical personnel, the patients' follow-up continues to be a significant issue. It is common to find that some of the patients, despite receiving STDs treatment and STDs prevention education, continue having the same high-risk sexual behavior, having inconsistent condom use with multiple sexual partners of STDs unknown status. After that, they don’t return to the clinic for continued care until they have an STD reinfection or new symptoms. Also, you can find other patients who started HIV PrEP medication that doesn’t come for follow-up as indicated until they have a new problem caused for continuing not using condoms and maintaining the same high-risk sexual behavior. According to the stakeholders, most of the patients are more focused on the STDs test and treatment and are less interested in the STDs prevention or behavior modification initiatives. After the discussion, I expressed my interest in solving clinical problems and finding a proven, evidence-based solution that can be implemented. New initiatives are needed to increase community awareness and education about STDs and treatment. All clinical personnel needs to train on techniques that help to engage patients in prevention and treatment. Also is necessary to work directly on the STDs prevention education, screening, and treatment of susceptible populations, like the homeless, drug users, people with high-risk sexual behavior, and uninsured patients. More money is required for these activities, which will necessitate the involvement of the government and other supportive organizations (Kantor et al., 2020). Therefore, we must focus on sourcing funds before the implementation.

PICOT Question: Do young adults with high-risk sexual behavior who start HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and sexual education program, compared with young adults not in the program, improve sexual behavior and consistently use condoms within the eight weeks of initiating treatment?

Population- Young adults with high-risk sexual behavior.

Intervention- HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and sexual education programs

Comparison- Young adults who are not in this program.

Outcome-improved sexual behavior and consistent use of condoms.

Time- eight weeks.

Translation science model that I will use knowledge to action.

EBI evidence-based intervention / PDSA (Plan- Do- Study- Act).?

My current focus is on educating vulnerable groups about the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases so that treatment interventions require less time and money. The educational activities will encourage the community members to be screened and take all necessary precautions to avoid new diseases (Moton & Tawk, 2019). I believe I have the cooperation of the practicum site decision-makers since they are concerned about our community's health and are open to innovative ideas that can benefit the clinic's outcome and prestige. I had worked directly with them and considered their assistance outstanding; nevertheless, they made it apparent that they seek a solution to the clinic's difficulties but are hesitant to spend too much money on new initiatives.

References

Moton, B., & Tawk, R. (2019). The relationship of sexual health education and sexual health risk behavioral outcomes among Florida teens. Florida Public Health Review, 13(1), 1.

https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/fphr/vol13/iss1/1/

Kantor, L., Levitz, N., & Holstrom, A. (2020). Support for sex education and teenage pregnancy prevention programs in the USA: results from a national survey of likely voters. Sex Education, 20(3), 239-251.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2019.1652807