The Guidelines Set Forth by AHRQ, Essay Example

The guidelines set forth by AHRQ represent a means of understanding how they impact nursing practice and quality of care for patients. These guidelines require nurses to be effective in treating patients in a variety of areas, such as enabling patients to receive a postpartum screening tool to evaluate depression risk for patients in the maternity unit. This tool requires current and available evidence that supports its validity and provides a basis for examining the different areas where nurses are likely to identify improvements in patient care that will have a lasting impact on patient outcomes and the treatment of postpartum depression when identified.

Screening for postpartum depression requires a high level understanding of the guidelines that support this tool by examining how evidence might be an effective contributor in the ability to evaluate patients and to recommend treatment alternatives as necessary (AHRQ, 2013). Patients must be provide with the tools and resources that are required to support patients in the postpartum phase to prevent the risks associated with depression and other complications (AHRQ, 2013). It is expected that through the identification of new forms of evidence, nurses will be able to administer the tools inspired by support for patients with postpartum depression, while also considering methods of treatment that are both new and innovative on many levels (AHRQ, 2013). In spite of some of the limitations in this area, it is possible to examine the different benefits that are available through postpartum screening so that patients will benefit from these practices (AHRQ, 2013). Most importantly, there must be a cohesive approach to the problem in place in order to minimize the risks associated with this practice and its overall benefit for patients. This process will support the continued growth and development of nursing guidelines as provided by AHRQ that fully align with the needs of this patient population and its future. Overall, the level of evidence provided by AHRQ would fall in the area of Grade B, or a Moderate  level of evidence, primarily because the evidence has some high quality merit, but it is not fully conducive in achieving the most effective outcomes with the most current information.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (2013). Efficacy and safety of screening for postpartum depression. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/postpartumdep.html

Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (2013). Postpartum depression screening improves              some maternal outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/research-activities/13jun/0613RA38.html