Discussion:-1 Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice

In your practice as a nurse, you may use procedures and methods that did not necessarily originate in evidence, but instead were derived from informal and unwritten conventions, traditions, and observations.

While these techniques may have merit, practices are constantly being updated and contradicted by information from scholarly research studies and professional guidelines. This new information serves as "evidence" for revising practices to improve outcomes across health care.

Based on this evidence, you can formulate a question. In this Discussion, you consider the use of evidence-based practice in your own organization and formulate a question that you will need to answer for your portfolio project. This is called a PICOT question. You will also investigate strategies for overcoming barriers to implementing evidence-based practice (EBP).

To prepare:

Consider a recent clinical experience in which you were providing care for a patient.

Determine the extent to which the care that you provided was based on evidence and research findings or supported only by your organization's standard procedures. How do you know if the tasks were based on research?

What questions have you thought about in a particular area of care such as a procedure or policy?

Review Chapter 2, pages 31-34 on "Asking Well worded Clinical Questions" in Polit & Beck and consult the resource from the Walden Student Center for Success: Clinical Question Anatomy & examples of PICOT questions (found in this week's Learning Resources). Formulate your background questions and PICOT question.

Reflect on the barriers that might inhibit the implementation of evidence-based practice in your clinical environment.
Review the article "Adopting Evidence-Based Practice in Clinical Decision Making" in this week's Learning Resources. Select one of the barriers described that is evident in your organization and formulate a plan for overcoming this barrier.

Discussion:-2 Literature Searches

An important step in the EBP process is reviewing the current body of literature to better understand the subject or topic in which you are interested.

By conducting a review of the literature, you are building foundational knowledge about the topic; later, you can use this background to build new insights. Developing a strong grasp of a topic can only be garnered by taking the time to thoroughly search for relevant information and resources.

For this Discussion, you will practice searching the literature to find evidence on a specific topic.

To prepare:

Choose a simple search term(s) relating to a topic of your PICOT question.

Review the information on the evidence hierarchy discussed in Chapter 2 of the course text, in the article, "Facilitating Access to Pre-Processed Research Evidence in Public Health," and in the multimedia presentation "Hierarchy of Evidence Pyramid," found in this week's Learning Resources.

Review the information on the Walden Library's website, "Levels of evidence." Take a few minutes to explore the different types of databases available for each level of evidence and focus on the meaning of filtered and non-filtered resources.

Conduct a literature search in the Walden Library on your selected topic using the databases that you reviewed. Use at least one database for each of the three levels of filtered information and at least one unfiltered database. Record the number of hits that you find at each level of the hierarchy of evidence.

Select one article from the results at each level of the hierarchy. Compare the articles based on the quality and depth of information. What would be the value of each resource if you were determining an evidence-based practice?

Discussion:-3 Theory, Research, and Evidence-Based Practice

As they explore the world around them, young children often want to know the "why" and "how" of the things they observe. This is similar to what researchers do when they approach a new problem. Researchers develop new theories or build on old ones to explain the "why" of the world around them. They use models and conceptual frameworks to help explain "how" the processes and events they observe occur.

Together, theories and models provide an understanding of the world and allow researchers to explore it in meaningful ways.

Virtually all research questions can benefit from the use of an existing theory or model. Researchers should consider their research questions and select the most suitable theory or model, which then serves as a foundation for the research design. The selection of a theory or model is an important part of the research process.

In this Discussion, you focus on the role of theory and models in research and evidence-based practice.

To prepare:

Review the information in Chapter 6 of the course text. Focus on the various conceptual theories and models that are currently used in nursing research.

Select one of the theories or models described that is of interest to you.

Using the Walden Library, search for and identify a research article that uses the theory or model you selected.

Reflect on how the theory or model provides structure to the research study described in the article.

Now, think about an issue in your practice area that you would be interested in exploring through research.
Review this week's media presentation and consider strategies for locating and identifying a relevant theory or model for a research study.

Discussion:-4 : Ethical Dimensions of Research Studies

In the best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Skloot, 2010), the author highlights the true story of an African-American woman who died in 1951 from cervical cancer. What makes her story unique is that prior to her death, cells from her tumor were removed and successfully grown in a petri dish.

This was the first time scientists were able to successfully replicate cells outside the body, and it is estimated that billions of Lacks' cells have been used in medical research. However, Henrietta Lacks was never asked for permission to take a sample and her family was never made aware of the widespread use of her cells. Although the culturing of her cells has been pivotal for advancing research, strong ethical concerns later arose about using these cells without patient or family approval.

This week's readings describe historical examples of unethical research, such as a study of syphilis among African-American men in which treatment was withheld and a study in which live cancer cells were injected into elderly patients. Today, stricter controls that seek to protect study participants are placed on researchers, but breaches still occur. Careful attention must be given toward preventing unethical behavior. In this Discussion, you explore ethical considerations and issues in research.

To prepare:

Select a current health-related case involving research ethics. (If none come to mind, browse the Internet to familiarize yourself with recent cases.)

As you review the case that you have selected, reflect on the ethical principles discussed in "What Are the Major Ethical Issues in Conducting Research?" article found in this week's Learning Resources. Which principles were breached in the case you have identified?