It is a Tuesday evening at 4:59pm and you are leaving the local health department where you serve as the lead epidemiologist. The phone rings, when you answer, it is the Health Services director at a local, residential college. The students arrived on Campus on Saturday, by today, several dozen students have reported to the college health clinic with nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. The first student reported to the clinic at 8:15am, by 4:30, the clinic had seen 3 dozen cases. There are 3001 students at the college.

 

Question 2: What is the current attack rate of the disease? (show your work)

 

UPDATE: Wednesday, August 22nd 5pm

Since this afternoon, 75 additional students have reported ill to the clinic, an additional seven went to the local hospital due to advanced symptoms. In addition, you have learned that at least one parent, who was dropping their child off at the college, has reported to their local hospital with similar symptoms.

You call the local hospital to get information regarding the seven students who went there and learn that all seven were admitted and are being treated with fluids. The hospital tells you it has collected stool samples and sent them to the lab for analysis.

Question 5: Provide a case definition

 

Question 6: Provide an updated attack rate (show your work)

Question 8: Create an epi curve based on what you know at this point.

If you need additional assistance with how to create an epi curve, use this resource: https://www.cdc.gov/training/quicklearns/createepi/

 

Question 9: Does the shape of the epi curve indicate a point source outbreak or a propagated outbreak?

 

Question 10: Now that you know the agent involved (Staph), how will you identify the specific source of the outbreak?

Question 11: Provide an updated case definition based on what you now know.

 

UPDATE, Thursday, August 23rd, 1pm

You receive a complete list of the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses for all 3,001 students at the college. After reviewing the data further, you notice that 58 of those that are sick, are freshmen. There are 307 incoming Freshmen.

Question 12: Other than the students, who else should you test/interview for possible exposure?

Question 13: Define case-control study (provide your source)

Question 14: Define cohort study (provide your source)

Question 15: would a case-control or cohort study be more appropriate for this outbreak? Explain your rationale.

Question 16: calculate the risk ratio for freshmen. (show your work)

 

UPDATE, Thursday, August 23rd, 3pm

You have learned that there was a special “Back to School” event for Freshmen and their families. The event was held outside, and included a buffet, people passing by could have eaten it, but it was specifically for Freshmen and their families. You have decided to send a survey to all those who are at risk.

Question 17: What is the best method for communicating with all those at risk?

Question 18: What population would you start with? (i.e. who is your highest risk group?)

Question 19: Draft an email and questionnaire to send to those at risk for the outbreak.

(You will have TWO work products for this question: 1-email to your target population and 2-a questionnaire/survey

EMAIL: (type your email below, do NOT attach it in a separate document)

SURVEY: (type your survey questions below, do NOT attach them as a separate document)

As noted in the Learning Resources, systems theory provides a meaningful and beneficial means of examining challenges in health care organizations. To do this effectively, however, it is essential to assess all system components, as some may be relatively healthy while others are problematic.

For this Assignment, you apply systems theory to the examination of a problem in a department or a unit within a health care organization. (Note: You may use the same problem you identified for the Discussion as long as it meets the criteria for this assignment.)

To prepare:

·         Review the Meyer article, “Nursing Services Delivery Theory: An Open System Approach,” in this week’s Learning Resources. Focus especially on the information presented in Table 1 (p. 2831) and Figure 2 (p. 2833).

·         Reflect on your organization or one with which you are familiar. Within a particular department or unit in this organization, identify a problem the staff is encountering.

·         Using Table 1 in the Meyer article as a guide, analyze the department or unit, identifying inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback. Consider whether the problem you have selected relates to input, throughput, output, cycles of events, and/or negative feedback.

·         Think about how you could address the problem: Consider what a desired outcome would be, then formulate related goals and objectives, and translate those goals into policies and procedures.

·         Research professional standards that are pertinent to your identified problem.

·         Reflect on the organization’s mission statement and values. In addition, consider how addressing this problem would uphold the mission and values, while improving the organizational culture and climate. (Depending on the organization you have selected, you may have explored these in the Week 1 Discussion.)

To complete:

Write a 3- to 5-page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:

·         Describe a department or unit within a health care organization using systems theory terminology. Include a description of inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback.

·         Describe the problem you identified within the department or unit using an open- systems approach, and state where the problem exists using the systems theory model (input, throughput, output, cycles of events, or negative feedback).

·         Based on this information, explain how you would address the problem as follows:

o    Formulate a desired outcome.

o    Identify goals and objectives that would facilitate that outcome.

o    Translate those goals and objectives into policies and procedures for the department or unit.

o    Describe relevant professional standards.

·         Explain how your proposed resolution to the problem would uphold the organization’s mission and values and improve the culture and climate.

 

*This paper must include a title page, introduction, summary, and references.

* Follow APA 6^th ed for the citation and references.

* Make sure all of your references are within 5 years old (between 2011 to 2016). All of your references should come from Textbooks, journal articles,  .gov or .org (evidenced based websites such as CDC, NIH or ADA).  Please do not use Wikipedia, WebMD, .com websites or Up to date for any of your work.

 

 

 

Readings

·         Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

o    Review Chapter 7, “Strategic and Operational Planning”

See especially Figure 7.1 on page 147.

o    Chapter 8, “Planned Change”

§  Organizational Change Associated With Nonlinear Dynamics (pp. 172–176)

Read this section of Chapter 8 on planned change. Consider the role of leaders in effectively managing planned change.

o    Chapter 12, “Organizational Structure”

§  “Organizational Culture” (pp. 274–276)

There are many structures organizations take, and these structures influence how the organization functions. This chapter discusses many different organizational structures and provides insights into how these structures influence the change process, as well as leadership and management.

·         Johnson, J. K., Miller, S. H., & Horowitz, S. D. (2008). Systems-based practice: Improving the safety and quality of patient care by recognizing and improving the systems in which we work. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/advances2/vol2/Advances-Johnson_90.pdf

This article addresses the importance of systems-based practice (SBP) in health care workplaces. The authors state that SBP knowledge is one of six core competencies that physicians have to know in order to provide safe and proper care for their patients.

·         Manley, K., O’Keefe, H., Jackson, C., Pearce, J., & Smith, S. (2014). A shared purpose framework to deliver person-centred, safe and effective care: Organisational transformation using practice development methodology. FoNS 2014 International Practice Development Journal 4 (1) [2].

Except from Abstract: A shared purpose is an essential part of developing effective workplace cultures and one of the founding principles of practice development in establishing person-centred, safe and effective practices that enables everyone to flourish. When units within health care organizations recognize their interdependence, they can create an interdisciplinary practice through systems integration.

·         Meyer, R. M., & O’Brien-Pallas, L. L. (2010). Nursing services delivery theory: An open system approach. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(12), 2828–2838.

In this article, the authors examine the effects of nursing services delivery theory in large-scale organizations. Among other benefits, this theory supports multilevel phenomena and cross-level studies, and it can guide future research and the management of nursing services.

·         Glennister, D. (2011, July). Towards a general systems theory of nursing: A literature review. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the System Sciences, Hull, United Kingdom. Retrieved from http://journals.isss.org/index.php/proceedings55th/article/viewFile/1717/569

·         Hayajneh, Y. (2007). Management for health care professionals series: Systems & systems theory.Retrieved from http://www.hayajneh.org/a/readings/Systems-Theory.pdf