Evidence Based Practice in Mental Healthcare: A Case Study of Alzheimer's Disease

Running head: EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
Evidence based practice
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Background:...............................................................................................................................2
Qualitative evidence...................................................................................................................2
Quantitative evidence.................................................................................................................4
Evaluation..................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................8

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EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
Introduction
The current study focuses upon the aspect of evidence based practices (EBP) and its
importance in mental healthcare. The evidence base nursing care and practices have been
seen to improve the quality of nursing care. The EBP covers recent advancements in clinical
epidemiology, information science and biostatistics to produce a comprehensive approach
based upon which health and support care services are delivered by the physicians. Some
of the evidence based methods which find special applications in nursing care are
randomized control trials, cross sectional studies having the disorder. Thus, Evidence based
medicine, can be defined as the utilising the best possible remedy to take care of the patient.
(Sackett et al.1996). Organizations such as NICE and department of health are incorporating
the evidence based practice strategies in order to dispense better care to the patients. NICE
guidelines help the patients in getting quality care at a very pocket friendly and cost-effective
economic rate.
Background:
The current study focuses upon Leonora who is a 90 years old widow diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s disease. She is retired primary school teacher and had lived an active life.
Before her retirement she had kept herself mentally alert by reading actively and solving
puzzles and crosswords. However, recently the patient had been hit with Alzheimer’s which
reduced her concentration levels and led to muddled thinking. The care supporters would
often find the patient rhythmically tapping the side of her chair and murmuring to herself. The
carers thought that the patient might be suffering from auditory hallucinations and required
antipsychotic medications to calm her down. On the other hand, some group of carers were
of the opinion that the instead of anti-psychotic medications, non-pharmacological
interventions should have been provided to the patient. The condition of the patient has
been accessed through various evidence based qualitative and quantitative literatures.
Qualitative evidence
The qualitative research is a process of naturalistic inquiry which seeks in-depth
understanding of special phenomena in natural setting. It focuses on ‘why’ instead of ‘what’
and relies on the direct experiences of human beings. In this respect , evidence have been
gathered by the researcher from qualitative journal articles which focuses upon advanced
care planning (ACP) to improve end of life care in dementia patients. One of the main
issues which have been faced by the caregivers over here is that in patients suffering from
dementia; the decision making and communication capabilities gradually decreases as the