Discussion Question

This Discussion topic is based on a case study. As in all case studies, review the facts of the case and consider the various steps of the nursing process in order to address the critical thinking questions below.

A group of nurses working in a large health care system are interested in implementing a water-based exercise program for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The nurse researcher assigned to work with the unit is assisting the nurses in designing and implementing the program and developing a research study to evaluate the program's effectiveness. The first step the group is performing is a critical appraisal of the work published by Kim, Chung, and Kang (2013).

In this published study, researchers discovered that the experimental group had significant improvement in self-efficacy, pain, body weight, blood lipids, and depression levels when compared with the control group and recommended the use of this intervention in patients with osteoarthritis. If Kim et al. made a type I error, what are the possible outcomes for patients in this group? Give an example of how a type II error could occur in this study and how might the chance of type II error be decreased.

1) In the study from question 1, compare and contrast the statistical significance of the findings with the clinical importance of the results.

2) Include in your discussion the strengths and weaknesses of the study and implications for nursing practice.