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JBI Database of Systematic Reviews & Implementation Reports 2015;13(7) 318 - 334

Discharge planning for acute coronary syndrome patients in a


tertiary hospital: a best practice implementation project

1,3
Minmin Lu

2
Jun Tang

2
Jianjin Wu

2
Jie Yang

2
Jiangyue Yu

1. School of Nursing, Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R. China

2. Huadong Hospital, Shanghai, P.R. China

3. The Fudan Evidence Based Nursing Center: an Affiliate centre of The Joanna Briggs Institute,
University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Corresponding author:

Lu Minmin

lmm789@fudan.edu.cn

Key dates

Commencement date: 14 July 2014

Completion date: 5 December 2014

Executive summary

Background

Acute coronary syndromes threaten the lives of patients, and pose a high risk for morbidity and
mortality despite advances in treatment. Evidence highlights that effective discharge planning
is associated with long-term prognosis of patients.

Objectives

The aim of this project was to improve local practice in discharge planning for acute coronary
syndrome patients in Huadong Hospital, Shanghai.

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JBI Database of Systematic Reviews & Implementation Reports 2015;13(7) 318 - 334

Methods

Five criteria identified by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) were used to conduct an audit in the
Cardiovascular Ward and Coronary Care Unit of Huadong Hospital, Shanghai. Forty-two
nurses and 65 patients were involved. The JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence
System (JBI-PACES) and Getting Research into Practice (GRIP) audit tools for promoting
change in health practice were used to ascertain compliance with the criteria before and after
the implementation of best practice. The program included three phases and was conducted
over five months.

Results

The project showed that the compliance rates of in-house education, advice on lifestyle
changes, education on discharge medication and left ventricular assessment reached 100%.
Psychological screening also attained 97% compliance. There were improvements in the
compliance rates of four criteria from 38% to 100%, excluding inhouse education which was
already 100% compliant.

Conclusions

The project achieved significant improvements in establishing evidence-based practice of


discharge planning for acute coronary syndrome patients in the Cardiovascular Ward and
Coronary Care Unit. Strategies for sustaining best practice will continue to be developed in the
future.

Keywords

acute coronary syndrome, discharge planning, clinical audit, best practice

Background

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) includes a variety of clinical scenarios ranging from unstable angina
and myocardial infarction without persistent-ST-segment elevation to myocardial infarction with
1
persistent-ST-segment elevation. Acute coronary syndrome threatens the lives of patients and
leads to high morbidity and mortality despite advances in treatment. A national report showed that the
inpatient mortality rate of ACS patients was 9.71%, the 30-day mortality ranged from 10.96% to
13.93%, and the 30-day readmission rate for surviving patients was 18.56% for all causes and 17.90%
for cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related diagnoses in the United States (US) between 2001 and
2
2006. During the year when the ACS incident occurred, mean annual total direct health care costs
3
per person were US$50,458, with more than half attributable to inpatient hospitalization (US$27,609).
A study retrospectively analyzing the 15-month follow-up of patients with ACS after primary
percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) found that a total of 31.2% patients were readmitted for
cardiovascular-related events, of which 59.3% were revascularization procedures, 1.0% where
3
patients required coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and 58.4% patients required PCI again.

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Discharge planning is defined as a process used to decide what a patient needs a smooth transition
from one level of care to another, which can be completed by a doctor, social worker, nurse, case
4
manager or other healthcare personnel. Effective discharge planning is associated with the long-term
prognosis of patients. A systematic review determined the effectiveness of planning the discharge of
individual patients moving from hospital, with the evidence suggesting that a discharge plan tailored to
the individual patient probably reduces the length of stay in hospital and the readmission rates for older
5
people admitted to hospital with a medical condition. A meta-analysis evaluated the effect of
comprehensive discharge planning plus post-discharge support to patients with congestive heart
failure (CHF), with results indicating that comprehensive discharge planning plus post-discharge
support for older patients with CHF significantly reduced readmission rates, and may improve health
6
outcomes such as survival and quality of life (QOL) without increasing costs.

7
Discharge planning for ACS patients is imperative. Horwitz et al. gave patient-friendly, verbal
discharge instructions to ACS and heart failure patients, including symptoms observation, activity
instructions and diet advice, thus patient perceptions of discharge care quality and self-rated
understanding were high. A short education and counselling session delivered by nurses enhanced
knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about ACS, and response to ACS symptoms in individuals with
8,9
ACS. Moreover, a study showed that nurse- oriented hospital-based prevention programs in
addition to usual care is a practical and effective method for reduction of cardiovascular risk in patients
10
with coronary disease. Research confirmed that lifestyle changes, control of risk factors, and
prescription of pharmacological therapies can improve the prognosis of coronary heart disease by
11
reducing all cause and cardiovascular mortality by15% to 25%.

However, a clinical audit reported that currently only one-quarter of ACS patients received optimal
12
secondary in-hospital prevention in Australia and New Zealand. A study surveyed patient
compliance with discharge management, with the results showing that at discharge, 57% of patients
were prescribed a combination of antiplatelet agent, beta-blocker, statin and angiotensin-converting
enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and/or angiotensin II-antagonist. At three months post discharge, only 48% of
patients reported using the same combination of medication. In the audit, 67% of patients recalled
being referred to cardiac rehabilitation; of these 33% had completed the program. Twenty-two percent
of patients reported being a smoker at the time of hospital admission and 50% of them continued to
smoke after discharge. The findings of the baseline audit showed that despite the robust evidence
13
base and availability of national guidelines, the management of patients with ACS can be improved.

Generally, the basics of a discharge plan includes evaluation of the patient by qualified personnel,
discussion with the patient or his representative, planning for homecoming or transfer to another care
facility, determining if caregiver training or other support is needed, referrals to home care agency
and/or appropriate support organizations in the community, and arranging for follow-up appointments
5
or tests. A qualitative study which was implemented in US hospitals identified five features of high

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quality discharge planning for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), such as initiating
discharge planning upon patient admission, using multidisciplinary case management services,
ensuring that a follow-up plan is in place prior to discharge, providing focused education sessions for
both the patient and family and contacting the primary care physician regarding the patient’s
14
hospitalization and follow-up care plan.

The discharge planning for ACS patients should be a long-term management plan which consists of a
medicine management plan (a medicine list, the dose, appropriate times of administration and
potential side effects), a chest pain action plan (warning signs of a heart attack and an immediate plan
to action), risk factors identification and individualized secondary prevention programs (referring
patients to cardiac rehabilitation program, providing smoking-cessation advice and support, proposing
good nutrition, moderate alcohol intake, regular physical activity and weight management, screening
15,16
depression and assessing social support). The checklist for discharge planning is used to
formalize the nurse’s practice, and providing patient/caregiver information sheets and education are
the main components of the discharge planning, which contains disease process explanation,
discharge medicines counselling, a list of medicines, chest pain action plan, risk factor modification
counselling, smoke cessation counselling, cardiac rehabilitation referral, and arranging follow-up
16
appointments.

In addition, there are many methodologies to implement discharge planning, such as providing specific
10 17
educational material, individual counselling, clinic visits, telephone follow-up, multidisciplinary
5
assessment and communication, documentaion of the discharge process, and periodic clinic and
18
home visits.

Sparse evidence is available to evaluate the effectiveness of discharge planning for ACS patients in
China. Therefore, this project aimed to promote the best practice approach to management of ACS
patients in the Cardiovascular Ward and Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Huadong Hospital through the
use of audit criteria developed by JBI to improve the nursing quality of clinical practice.

Objectives

This clinical audit is concerned with the implementation of best practice in the discharge planning for
ACS patients in the cardiovascular ward and the CCU of Huadong Hospital, Shanghai, China.

Specific aims of this project are:

1. To increase nurses knowledge and skills of discharge planning for ACS patients.

2. To formalize local practices in the discharge planning for ACS patients.

3. To ensure the discharge planning for ACS patients is performed according to the best
available evidence.

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4. To promote the education of ACS patients prior to discharge.

Methods

This project was divided into three phases conducted over six months from July 2014 to December
2014. The Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System (JBI-PACES) and
Getting Research into Practice (GRIP) programs are online tools to facilitate a process of change using
an audit, feedback and re-audit cycle. This project was supported by the JBI-PACES and GRIP
programs.

Setting

This project was conducted in the Cardiovascular Ward and CCU of Huadong Hospital, Shanghai,
China. There are 52 beds in the Cardiovascular Ward, 13 beds in CCU and 42 nurses . Nearly 1800
cardiovascular patients are admitted to the units each year, among whom 20% of experienced ACS.
Discharge planning for ACS is performed by all the registered nursing staff.

Sample

 Patients who were admitted in the Cardiovascular Ward and CCU, and undertook primary PCI.

 There were 33 patients and 42 nurses involved in baseline audit, with 34 patients and 42
nurses involved in the follow-up audit.

Ethical considerations

This project was a quality improvement exercise and hence formal ethical approval was not required.

Phase 1: Team establishment and baseline audit

From July 14 to September 5, 2014, the team identified the audit topic, established the project team
(table 1), identified audit criteria and enrolled patients, and conducted the baseline audit.

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Table 1: Establishment of project team

Team Position Organization Role

member

Lu Minmin Lecturer Nursing School of Project coordinator, protocol writing,

Fudan University audit design, process control and

promote, questionnaire design, nurses

training, data analysis and report writing

Tang Jun Head nurse, CCU in Huadong Communication with other nurses,

RN Hospital nurses training, strategy development,

supervision and data collection

Wu Jianjin Head nurse, Cardiovascular Ward in Communication with other nurses,

RN Huadong Hospital nurses training, strategy development,

supervision and data collection

Yang Jie RN CCU in Huadong Education implementation, supervision

Hospital and data collection

Yu RN Cardiovascular Ward in Education implementation, supervision

Jiangyue Huadong Hospital and data collection

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A project team meeting was held to discuss the audit criteria and the data collection methods before
the baseline audit. The team members reviewed the project background, and the course of project
implementation. This was to ensure that all the team members were familiar with the audit criteria and
methods. The head nurses informed all the nurses of the project about the of the project to ensure its
smooth implementation. In the last week of July 2014, preparations were complete.

Audit criteria

Five criteria were identified and used in both the baseline and follow-up audits as follows:

1. The patient has completed an inhouse education and activity program.

2. The discharge plan includes advice on lifestyle changes that will reduce the risk of further
cardiac events including: quitting smoking, good nutrition, moderating alcohol intake, regular
physical activity, and weight management.

3. Discharge medications are reviewed with the patient/family: reasons for use, of each
medication, potential side effects, and appropriate times of administration are included in this
review.

4. If there is evidence of chronic heart failure, left ventricular assessment is performed prior to
patient discharge.

5. An inpatient psychological screening is done to identify those patients who require a more
formal outpatient mental status assessment and behavioural treatment planning following
hospital discharge.

Data collection

Criterion 1: The nurses of the project team interviewed the patients and/or caregivers after they
finished their discharge procedures to check if nurses had completed an education and activity
program to them.

Criterion 2 and 3: Nurses in the cardiovascular ward and CCU self-reported their performance, and the
project team members reviewed the nursing records and observed the nurses’ performance.

Criterion 4: The nurses of the project team reviewed the nursing records to check if the nurses
assessed the left ventricular function of patients who suffered chronic heart failure.

Criterion 5: The nurses of the project team reviewed the nursing records to check if the psychological
screening tool was used to assess the patients’ mental status.

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Baseline audit

The baseline audit was conducted by the project team members using JBI- PACES. All data were
collected by nurses of the project team and recorded using forms. After the audit process was
completed, the project team discussed the results of the audit data obtained using JBI-PACES and the
compliance rates of each criterion were documented.

Phase 2: Design and implementation of strategies to improve practice (GRIP)

Phase 2 was conducted within eight weeks from September 8 to October 31, 2014. Reflecting on the
results of baseline audit, the project team identified the barriers to the implementation of each criterion
and developed strategies based on the available resource to overcome the barriers. The whole GRIP
period lasted seven weeks from September 15 to October 31, 2014.

Phase 3: Follow-up audit post implementation of change strategy

From November 3, 2014 to December 5, 2014, the re-audit was conducted using the same audit
criteria and in the same way as the baseline audit. Forty-two nurses and 34 patients were involved
and all data were collected as what was done at the baseline audit.

Results

Phase 1: Baseline audit

The results of the baseline audit showed that the compliance rate of the assessment of left ventricular
function among ACS patients with chronic heart failure and using psychological screening to identify
the patients’ mental status before discharge was the lowest (0%). All the patients included in the
program received an inhouse education and activity program before discharge, while education on
lifestyle changes and discharge medication were 62% and 55% respectively. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: Compliance with best practice audit criteria in baseline audit (%)

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Phase 2: Strategies for Getting Research into Practice (GRIP)

During Phase 2, we found five barriers and implemented measures to overcome the barriers.

Barrier 1: Nurses lacked knowledge on discharge education for ACS patients.

 Strategy: The project team designed an education program on the knowledge of discharge
education for ACS patients, involving a knowledge course, a practice demonstration, and a
supervised practice. All nurses in the Cardiovascular Ward and CCU were involved in the
program. The knowledge course was conducted by the designer of the project team and the
head nurses discussed the knowledge in the morning meeting. A written examination about
the knowledge course was required by all nurses. The nurses of the project team
demonstrated the education program to the ACS patients and supervized the education
conducted by other nurses to the patients and provided feedback to them. A field simulation of
patient education was required and assessed for all nurses in the ward before they could
provide patient education.

 Resource: The project team developed educational slides, conducted the lesson, and supplied
written materials to the nurses. The head nurses had the authoroty to organize the study
activities and to supervize the nurses. Senior nurses held a demonstration on how to perform
patient education. Two books on management of ACS were used to expand the nurses’
knowledge about ACS. The project team also developed an examination paper to assess the
nurses’ knowledge of ACS.

 Outcome: All nurses were trained and reviewed on the ACS discharge education.

Barrier 2: Nurses lacked the psychological screening tool for among inpatients.

 Strategy: The project team searched the Chinese and English internet database to find a
proper inpatient psychological screening tool. The project team discussed the applicability and
feasibility of the tool used in the cardiovascular wards and CCU. Nurses were required to be
trained on how to use the screening tool and the head nurses would supervize their
application.

 Resource: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and its Chinese version, including its
applications in cardiovascular wards, were found and validated in Chinese hospitals. The
designer trained the nurses to use the tool appropriately to evaluate the inpatients and
determine the coping style according to the evaluation results. The head nurses would monitor
the application of the screening tool by the nurses at the beginning.

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 Outcome: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Chinese version) was prepared and all
nurses could use the tool to assess the psychological status of inpatients.

Barrier 3: Increased workload to formalized discharge planning.

 Strategy: The project team designed a document which involved a list of discharge planning to
regulate the nurses’ workflow. A pamphlet was developed to help nurses to provide discharge
education, including ACS pathology, risk of complications, risk factor modification,
management of discharge medicines, chest pain action plan and follow-up. The posters were
hung up on the walls of corridors to provide opportunities for patients and their relatives to gain
knowledge on ACS and the importance of lifestyle changes during hospitalization. Thus, all
trained nurses carried out the discharge education smoothly. The head nurses supervized the
nurses’ performance weekly to improve the compliance of nurses to the discharge planning.
The project team also designed a questionnaire on risk factors, lifestyle changes and
discharge medicine for ACS patients to evaluate the effects of the discharge education.

 Resource: The document, pamphlet and posters were designed to guide nurses to carry out
discharge planning. Supervision by the head provided motivation for the nurses. A
questionnaire was developed for the patients.

 Outcome: All nurses could implement discharge planning as expected.

Barrier 4: Nurses lacked awareness and enthusiasm to implement discharge education.

 Strategy: We implemented the election activity named “the star of discharge education”. The
votes were designed and patients could elect the nurses who carried out the discharge
education as their expectation to encourage nurses. The head nurses evaluated the quality of
discharge education implemented by the nurses. The performance of the nurses were then
tied to bonuses as a form of incentive.

 Resource: Votes were designed for usage by patients and the head nurse had the authority to
allocate bonuses for the nurses.

 Outcome: The enthusiasm of nurses moderately improved.

Barrier 5: Nurses lacked the awareness of left ventricular assessment for ACS patients with chronic
heart failure.

 Strategy: We educated the nurses on the importance of assessing the left ventricular function
of patients with chronic heart failure and recording the values of the left ventricular ejection
fraction (LVEF) in their records. The head nurses would check the documents before the
patients were discharged.

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 Resource: Recording the values of LVEF was part of nursing records for ACS patients with
chronic heart failure. Checking the patient’s nursing records before discharge was a way for
the nurses to ascertain if this activity had been done.

 Outcome: Left ventricular assessment was introduced as a component of nursing records for
ACS patients with chronic heart failure.

Table 2: GRIP matrix from JBI-PACES

Barrier Strategy Resources Outcomes


Nurses lacked Implemented an education Educational slides All nurses were trained
knowledge of program Simulation and qualified on the
discharge - A knowledge course Supervision and ACS discharge
planning for ACS - A practice demonstration feedback education
patients - A supervized practice and Written materials
feedback Quizzes
Setup qualified assessments
- A written examination
- A practice supervision
Nurses lacked Found a proper inpatient The Hospital Anxiety The Hospital Anxiety
inpatient psychological screening tool and Depression Scale and Depression Scale
psychological Assessed the feasibility and (Chinese version) (Chinese version) was
screening tool applicability of the tool Training course prepared
Trained the nurses to use the Supervision of All nurses could use
screening tool psychological the tool to assess the
Supervized the application of screening psychological status of
the tool inpatients
Increased Designed a document to Discharge document All nurses could
workload due to regulate the nurses’ workflow A pamphlet implement discharge
formalized Made a pamphlet to help Posters planning as requested
discharge nurses to provide discharge Supervision Data from the patient
planning education A questionnaire questionnaire
Made the posters for patients regarding information
and their relatives about risk factors,
The head nurses supervized lifestyle change and
the nurses’ performance discharge medicine
Designed a questionnaire for showed an increase of
patients to evaluate the effect 7.88%, 3.16% and
of the discharge education 19.53% respectively

Nurses lacked Implemented the selection Selection activity The enthusiasm of


awareness and activity named “the star of Bonuses nurses moderately
enthusiasm to discharge education” improved

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implement Bonuses were tied to the


discharge nurses’ performance of
education discharge education to
patients
Nurses lacked the Educated the nurses on the Education Left ventricular
awareness of left importance to assess left Nursing record assessment was
ventricular ventricular function of Check-up introduced as a
assessment for patients with CHF component of
ACS patients with Required the nurses to nursing records for
chronic heart record the values of LVEF in ACS patients with
failure their records chronic heart failure.
The head nurses would
examine the document
before patients were
discharged

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Phase 3: Follow-up audit

The results of the follow-up audit showed that the compliance rates of inhouse education, advice on
lifestyle changes, education on discharge medication and left ventricular assessment all reached
100%. The compliance rate of psychological screening attained 97%. See Figure 2.

Figure 2: Compliance with best practice audit criteria in follow-up audit compared to baseline
audit (%)

The compliance of each criterion in two audit is shown in Table 3.

Table 3: The compliance of each criterion in two audits (%)

Pre Post
Audit criteria
Y N NA Y N NA

Criterion 1: Inhouse education 33 0 0 34 0 0

Criterion 2: Advice on lifestyle changes 26 16 0 34 0 0

Criterion 3: Education on medication 23 19 0 34 0 0

Criterion 4: Left ventricular assessment 0 5 0 6 0 0

Criterion 5: Psychological screening 0 33 0 33 1 0

Discussion

The project recorded improvements in compliance of each criteria; the compliance rates of four criteria
(inhouse education, lifestyle changes, medication guidance, left ventricular function assessment)
attained 100% and one criterion (psychological screening) reached 97%. Compared with the baseline
audit, there were improvements in the compliance rates of four criteria from 38% to 100% in the
follow-up audit.

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Although the patients completed the inhouse education and activity programs in the baseline audit, the
coverage and depth of education was not adequate. It was self-reported that a portion of nurses
educated the patients, except on regular physical activity, weight management, reason for use of
discharge medicine or their potential side effects. This was mainly because some nurses lacked
knowledge on discharge education, especially the junior nurses. Consequently, all the nurses in the
Cardiovascular Ward and CCU received a training program on discharge education for ACS patients,
which improved the quality of discharge education offered to patients.

In order to ensure adequate coverage of discharge education, a worksheet was developed to regulate
the outline of discharge education. The items on the worksheet could then be ticked off when as
nurses had finished the contents of discharge education. A pamphlet and posters were developed to
assist nurses in conducting the education, and to impart the necessary information to the patients.
Additionally, reading materials about self-management of ACS were provided which contributed to
enhance the depth of discharge education. A questionnaire was also designed to ascertain the
knowledge of patients in order to gauge the effects of discharge planning. Patient knowledge regarding
risk factors increased from 67.22% to 75.10% from baseline to follow-up audit. The compliance rate for
discharge medications showed significant improvement, increasing by 19.53%. Although the
compliance rate for lifestyle changes had a high score of 78.36% in the baseline audit, it still increased
slightly, to 81.51%. This data highlights the effectiveness of discharge education.

Before the project, nurses seldom checked the results of the left ventricular function of ACS patients
with chronic heart failure. Nurses did not realize the importance of the assessment of ACS patients
with chronic heart failure and there was no requirement for nurses to know the value of left ventricular
ejection fraction (LVEF). Through this project, nurses were educated regarding this, and required to
document this in clinical records. Additionally, formal checking of nursing records ensured adherence
to best practice.

In the baseline audit, the psychological screening tool was not used with ACS patients in the clinical
environment, including the Cardiovascular Ward and CCU. This was because there was no suitable
screening tool and nursing staff lacked awareness of the importance in evaluating the psychological
status of ACS patients. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Chinese version) was identified as
a suitable tool for this purpose, as it had good validity and reliability among cardiovascular patients.
Nurses received education in its use. Although most patients were willing to be evaluated using the
tool, a minority of patients, especially from a lower socio-economic background, had doubts about the
assessment. A simplified concise tool will be sourced to assess the psychological status of ACS
patients in the next audit project.

During the implementation phase, we found that discharge education correctly conducted took more
time, which meant an increased workload for the nursing staff. Nurses also lacked awareness and
enthusiasm to carry out evidence-based discharge education. Thus, besides the worksheet being

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designed to regulate workflow, pamphlets and posters were used to facilitate the provision of
education. The head nurses also played an imperative role in increasing the compliance of nurses,
supervizing the performance of nurses and tying their performance to bonuses. However, to sustain
the performance of nurses, more strategies are needed in the future. For instance, we may produce
videos about discharge education, which patients could watch at any time during their hospitalization
to decrease the workload of discharge education. Furthermore, we found the discharge education
provided by junior nurses was not as detailed as that given by senior nurses. This was mainly due to
junior nurses lacking the experience and confidence to give education. Accordingly, we could introduce
the clinical ladder program to encourage nurse specialists who have the competence and confidence
to implement evidence-based discharge education. In light of these facts, we need both financial and
organizational support from the hospital or the government in the future.

Despite the limitations within this project, the project team is convinced that this project was
successfully conducted and improved the quality of nursing. The team is unanimous on the need for
follow-up cycles in the future. Also, educational projects on evidence-based practice for nursing staff
need to be implemented to update knowledge, as well as to integrate evidence within nursing practice.
Strategies such as education videos, use of smartphones and telephone follow-up to reinforce
education for ACS patients will be planned to optimize best practice implementation.

Conclusion

This audit project achieved a significant improvement in establishing evidence-based discharge


planning for ACS patients in the Cardiovascular Ward and CCU of Huadong Hospital, China. Although
the clinical outcomes require long-term observations, the majority of patients expressed their
satisfaction after discharge. However, the incremental workload for staff and incentives are not
sustainable if the strategies are not incorporated into routine nurse management. Therefore, clinical
audits should also be conducted periodically, which may increase sustainability for improving
compliance with best practice.

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to JBI for organizing the Evidence-Based Clinical Fellowship Program which provided us
with the opportunity to introduce new changes into our work. Thank you to my facilitator, Dr Yifan Xue,
who assisted with topic selection, evidence searching, protocol writing and presentation preparation.
Thank you to the other research staff within JBI for assistance and support.

Thank you to the Nursing School of Fudan University and Huadong Hospital for the funding and
support to attend this program.

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