DQ 2 :Describe at least two other methods commonly used by authors to disseminate or report quality improvement outcomes.
Four parts, one of which is reading an actual journal's author guidelines. That artefact is what makes the post concrete, and the two alternative methods have to be genuinely different routes.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 18, 2026
A journal, its guidelines, and two other routes
Choose a journal you would realistically target and say why, because the choice is an argument about audience. A specialty journal reaches the clinicians who could adopt your change; a nursing quality or improvement journal reaches people running similar projects; a general nursing journal reaches breadth at the cost of depth. Then actually read the author guidelines and summarise what they require, since that is the deliverable: manuscript type and word limit, structure, reporting standard, reference style, submission portal, authorship and conflict of interest declarations, and whether there is an article processing charge. The most consequential item for improvement work is the reporting standard — many journals require SQUIRE for quality improvement, which specifies what a report must contain including the rationale, the context and the intervention described in enough detail to replicate. Reading the actual guidelines rather than assuming them is the whole point of this part of the prompt.
The two other methods should be genuinely different routes rather than two kinds of publication. A conference presentation, poster or podium, is faster and reaches people who can ask questions, and it usually precedes a paper rather than replacing it. Internal dissemination through a practice council, grand rounds or a system-wide quality forum is the route with the highest chance of actually changing practice, since the audience already has the authority to adopt. A professional organisation's newsletter, a specialty webinar, a toolkit deposited in a repository, or a policy brief for a state association each reach an audience a journal never will. Then answer the benefit question honestly: the guidelines are useful long before submission, because writing to a reporting standard from the start forces you to record the context and the intervention detail during the project, when it is still recoverable, rather than reconstructing it a year later.
Likely learning objectives
- Choose a target journal as an argument about audience.
- Summarise real author guidelines, including the reporting standard.
- Identify dissemination routes that reach audiences a journal cannot.
- Explain how writing to a reporting standard changes project record-keeping.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
DNP 830 Topic 8 DQ 2 DQ 2 :Describe at least two other methods commonly used by authors to disseminate or report quality improvement outcomes. Select a nursing journal in which you would be interested in having your completed DPI Project published. Page 40 Grand Canyon University 2022 © Prepared on: Aug 24, 2022 Identify the journal and include a summary of the author guidelines. Describe at least two other methods commonly used by authors to disseminate or report quality improvement outcomes. How could the author guidelines, or those additional strategies you identifed, be benefcial to you as you develop and implement your DPI Project? How could the author guidelines be benefcial to your practice?
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01A named journal and a reason for the choice.
- 02A summary of its actual author guidelines.
- 03The reporting standard it requires.
- 04At least two genuinely different dissemination routes.
- 05A benefit that applies during the project rather than after it.
The journal choice, the guidelines, then the alternatives
Choosing the journal
Argue the choice from the audience you need to reach.
What the assessor is likely looking for
An audience named, with what you want them to do.
What the guidelines require
Summarise structure, limits, standard, declarations and charges.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A requirement quoted rather than assumed.
The reporting standard
Explain SQUIRE or equivalent and what it demands.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A required element that must be captured during the project.
Two other routes
Give conference and internal dissemination as different in kind.
What the assessor is likely looking for
An audience with adoption authority.
Why this helps now
Show the standard shaping what you record during the project.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A detail that would be unrecoverable if not captured early.
Where quality improvement reporting standards live
Recommended databases
- PubMed Central
- CINAHL Complete
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Implementation Science
Search sequence
- 1.Pick a journal and open its author guidelines page before writing anything.
- 2.Find a published improvement report and note which reporting standard it followed.
- 3.Read on implementation reporting for what context detail is required.
- 4.Identify the internal forum in your own organisation that could adopt the change.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Mapping Implementation Strategies and Outcomes When Using Evidence Based Practice Implementation Models in Nursing Settings: A Scoping Review
Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing · 2025
Mapping implementation strategies to outcomes — the kind of detail a reporting standard requires.
Evolving quality improvement support strategies to improve Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle fidelity: a retrospective mixed-methods study
BMJ Quality & Safety · 2019
Plan-do-study-act fidelity reporting, and why the context has to be recorded as you go.
A refined compilation of implementation strategies: results from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) project
Implementation Science (via PubMed Central) · 2015
A taxonomy of implementation strategies, useful for describing an intervention reproducibly.
Nurses' roles in changing practice through implementing best practices: A systematic review
Health SA Gesondheid · 2022
A systematic review of nurses implementing best practice — the literature your report would join.
Implementation strategies for large scale quality improvement initiatives in primary care settings: a qualitative assessment
BMC Primary Care · 2023
Large-scale quality improvement implementation, for the internal dissemination argument.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Naming a journal without reading its guidelines.
- Offering two forms of publication as the two other methods.
- Omitting internal dissemination, which is the route most likely to change practice.
- Treating the guidelines as relevant only at submission.
Submission checklist
- Is your journal real and plausibly reachable?
- Have you summarised its actual requirements?
- Is a reporting standard named?
- Are your two other methods genuinely different routes?
- Is the benefit stated for during the project?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.