Reflective Journal on Capstone Proposal: COPD Focus

This reflective journal entry details a student's capstone proposal centered on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the reduction of patient rehospitalizations. The student outlines the relevance of the topic to current healthcare issues, focusing on the use of supplemental oxygen therapy versus palliative care for COPD patients under home health programs. The proposal utilizes the PICOT format to formulate a research question, exploring the effectiveness of oxygen therapy in improving the quality of life and reducing rehospitalization rates. The journal reflects on the literature search process, database selection (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct), and the potential impact of the capstone project in addressing the lack of standardized treatment programs for COPD patients. The student aims to demonstrate the benefits of oxygen therapy in managing COPD symptoms and preventing exacerbations, hoping to contribute valuable insights into new practice approaches within the healthcare field.

Running head: REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ON CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
Reflective journal on capstone proposal
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ON CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
The topic that I have chosen for the capstone project is extremely relevant to the present
key issues prevalent in the health care industry. The chronic obstructive pulmonary or COPD
disorder is one of the most commonly observed chronic illnesses that cause the most of the
health concerns for the patients requiring re-hospitalizations for the patients (Apps et al., 2016).
The problem statement that was selected for the project had been focused on reducing the rates
of the hospitalization of the patients that are suffering from chronic illnesses such as COPD and
are under the home health programs. We proposed a PICOT format for the research question and
it had been and excellent opportunity for me to understand the process of the evidence based
research study using the PICOT format. The chosen population was any group that is exposed to
irritants that can affect the he airways, the intervention had been the supplemental oxygen
therapy and palliative care. The comparison element that we chose for the capstone had been the
comparison between the effectiveness of the external oxygen therapy to prolong the life and
improve the living the quality of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder patents as compared
to the palliative care strategy that is generally taken for such patients. The primary aim or
objective of the capstone project is to establish that the aid of prolonged oxygen therapy can
improve the living quality of the COPD homecare patients and reduce the need for re-
hospitalization events. The outcome chosen for the research study is to prolong life devoid of
frequent hospitalizations and there was no definite timeframe chosen for the project in the
proposal stage, although it was expected to implement the intervention and assess the outcome of
the study until the time of the death of the patient.
This had been an extremely advantageous for me to understand how to conduct evidence
based research, how to formulate research questions for the database researches and also all the
different overlapping factors that are needed to be considered while formulating the questions.

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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ON CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
The next phase had been the literature search and critical evaluation of the literature that has
been selected by the search strategy. The databases that I selected for the database search had
been the PubMed, Google scholar and Science direct. Exploring the impact that this capstone
project might be able to bring about, it has to be mentioned in this context that there are no
considerable effective and standardized treatment program for the COPD patients (Gao &
Taniguchi, 2014). Especially those that target the need for the deterioration events and the need
for readmissions. Hence, it can be mentioned in this context that the capstone project focuses on
the implementation of new practice approaches. Hence the implementation of the oxygen therapy
in place of the regular palliative care approaches can help unravel key information regarding the
benefits that can be applied to the scenario of COPD exacerbations that require repeated
hospitalization (Brill & Wedzicha, 2014). Hence, it can be hoped that this particular capstone
project will be able to shade light on how impactful the oxygen therapy is to help manage COPD
symptoms and help avoid the chances of exacerbations.

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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ON CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
References:
Apps, M., Mukherjee, D., Abbas, S., Minter, J., & Whitfield, J. (2016). Integration of hospital
and community COPD services including pulmonary rehabilitation can improve patient
care and reduce hospital stays. 1.2 Rehabilitation and Chronic Care.
doi:10.1183/13993003.congress-2016.pa3737
Brill, S. E., & Wedzicha, J. A. (2014). Oxygen therapy in acute exacerbations of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, 9, 1241.
Gao, C., & Taniguchi, N. (2014). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Glycoscience: Biology and Medicine, 1267-1274. doi:10.1007/978-4-431-54841-6_175.
Lange, P., Celli, B., Agustí, A., Boje Jensen, G., Divo, M., Faner, R., … Vestbo, J. (2015). Lung-
Function Trajectories Leading to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. New England
Journal of Medicine, 373(2), 111-122. doi:10.1056/nejmoa1411532