Tang- Nighttime Vitals

Tang- Nighttime Vitals

by Victoria Tang -

What level of government did you target to translate your research into policy and why did this make the most sense?

I would start at my local VA government because it is currently being implemented and also after collecting data and evaluating the results, it'll provide further leverage to translate this into local policy 

What level of government makes the most sense for you to translate your research into policy and why?

Eventually, the national VA government would benefit to translate my research into policy because it would better allocate resources to those that are sickest within the hospital; improve quality of care, likely, and patient satisfaction.

What strategies did you use to reach policymakers?

I have not yet reached out to policymakers but my first step would need to conduct and publish results really identifying the low risk patients that is generalizable to the national population so that a decrease in nighttime vitals in low risk patients would be feasible at the national level. 

What steps are available to you to reach policymakers?

This would likely be through hospital administration recognizing the targeting of health care resources . Patient advocate groups can also champion in reaching policymakers as this would affect quality of care.  

Re: Tang- Nighttime Vitals

by Christina Mangurian -

Great ideas, Victoria.

I agree--starting with the VA hospital here in SF makes the most sense.  Eventually translating it into policy there is a great idea.  I really like the idea of spreading throughout the VA nationally.  I'd also consider whether other hospitals could benefit from what you learn from the VA intervention.

 

I'd consider reaching out to policymakers at your local VA hospital now.  If you talk to them NOW and get them excited about outcomes to measure--it'll be easier for you to sell them on spreading your findings later.  I'd also gather a few typical cases to get them to really understand the utility of this.  You might also consider partnering with a champion from nursing or medicine to join you in this endeavor.  If several different kinds of people are interested--it becomes more powerful.

Re: Tang- Nighttime Vitals

by Nicole Ling -

Hey Vicki, 

Great job. I agree with Christina's sentiments.  Your project has the potential to have widespread impact for a seemingly low risk, efficiency maximizing intervention.  It might be worth talking to hospital administration to see what kinds of data (or even stories) they think that policy makers might favor.  It also seems that someone from the nursing world would be ideal also, since they're the ones who's workflow is directly affected.  If they have buy in, they can help you lobby and advocate for adoption of your project in the future (looking steps ahead in your current process). Strong work.

Nikki

Re: Tang- Nighttime Vitals

by Lindsay Hampson -

The VA is such a nice opportunity for testing an intervention and this is something that VAs will really want to do if it works! I think selling it as a "quality improvement" systems change will help - the VA does a lot of quality metrics and looks at ways to make improvements in terms of quality of care. I agree - get the SFVA administration involved early. Find out who runs the quality program and talk to them about what they hear at a national level in terms of where they should be moving, what people are pushing for, what people want to hear about, and what data they want to see. That way you can make sure you are addressing these needs in designing your program.