Developing a Clinical Question for Study Using the PICO format

Type: Research Paper

Subject: Issues in Nursing

Subject area: Nursing

Education Level: Undergraduate/College

Length: 3 pages

Referencing style: APA

Preferred English: US English

Spacing Option: Double

Title: The nurses on your unit have been discussing and debating the best ways to provide care for patients when they are discharged from your unit. You are wondering how to achieve the best standard of practice for patient education in your specialty area, so you decide to formulate a PICO question and conduct a literature search on this topic.

Instructions: submit a paper of 2–3 pages in apa format that addresses the following items: develop a clinical question for study using the pico format. p: a population or a group of patients, for example patients with insulin-dependent diabetes i: an intervention, such as patient education programs c: a comparison intervention or treatment, such as home visits by a nurse o: patient outcomes for example: do educational programs for diabetics on insulin or home visits to a diabetic do more to support control of blood sugar? for example: do patient educational classes for asthmatic patients lead to improved functional status (decrease hospitalizations)? (note: in this example, there is no comparison treatment.) using medline/pubmed (using mesh) and cinahl, do the following: conduct a systematic search for relevant research findings on your topic or question. list the words that you entered to perform each search. list the number of findings that were returned. identify the steps that you took to narrow the search to more precise findings. describe at least 3 sources of relevant literature findings on your pico question. you should be able to locate the article in full text or an abstract of the study. select research findings that most closely fit the pico question that you posed. cite the references. now, research your pico question using this scholarly search engine. list the number of “hits” that were returned. how does this search engine rate and rank the reference articles that it lists in a search? how does this search engine ranking system aid researchers as they seek information? explain the following: what steps can a researcher use to narrow the search for information on a clinical topic? why is it necessary to narrow a search? which search did you find to be the most effective and useful on this clinical topic, and what made it effective for you? what is the difference between a search engine and a database for locating relevant practice information? select a preferred search tool, and identify the rationale for your preference.

Developing a Clinical Question for Study Using the PICO format

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Institutional Affiliation

Course Number: Course Name

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Date Due

Developing a Clinical Question for Study Using the PICO format

PICO Question:  In patients with type 2 diabetes, does a one-month self-management education program compared to usual care result in improved patients’ self-care behaviors, knowledge, and quality of life.

Population (p): Type 2 diabetes

Intervention (I): Self-management education program

Comparison(C): Usual care

Patient Outcomes (0): Improved patient’s self-care behaviors, knowledge, and quality of life.

Conducting Systematic Research Using Medline/PubMed and CINAHL on the Question

The list of words that I entered to perform the research included type 2 diabetes,  self-management education, patient, and quality of life. The number of finding that was returned was 500 articles. I focused on articles that addressed self-management education program effectiveness in managing type 2 diabetes and those within five years. I did not consider Articles more than five years. The three articles that were relevant to my study were:

Baraz, S., Zarea, K., & Shahbazian, H. B. (2017). Impact of the self-care education program on quality of life in patients with type II diabetes. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 11, S1065-S1068. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2017.07.043

According to the article, diabetes is a permanent condition that requires lifetime rehabilitation and treatment. The article states that self-care management education effectively improves patient’s quality of life by reducing the risk of complications. For instance, self-care education compels diabetic patients to modify their lifestyle, including behavior, and attitude to avoid complications. The change in behavior increases type 2 diabetes patient’s physical and mental health.

Palmer, C. (2017). Providing self-management education to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Addressing basic nutrition and hypoglycemia. The Nurse Practitioner, 42(11), 36-42.

According to the article, nurse practitioners and other primary care providers engage with increasing number of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. However, helping patients participate in self-care is vital to controlling blood glucose levels and preventing diabetes-related complications. Standard delivery of DSME (Diabetes self-management education) program can help prevent blood sugar levels and diabetes-related complications. The program focuses on lifestyle modifications, diabetes-related self-care, and complications prevention.  Self-care management education enhances patients’ skills and knowledge to engage in diabetes self-care activities.

Abdulah, D. M., Hassan, A. B., Saadi, F. S., & Mohammed, A. H. (2018). Impacts of self-management education on glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 12(6), 969-975. ,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2018.06.007

According to the article, physical and dietary activities are considered crucial to type 2 diabetes mellitus management and prevention. Thus, the researchers aimed to determine a three-month self- management intervention impact on glycemic control. According to their findings, positive dietary habits, physical activity, and biochemical indicators were evident after the program. Thus, self-management interventions are effective in improving type 2 diabetic patient’s quality of life.

Researching PICO Using a Scholarly Search Engine

The search engine used was Google, and it resulted in 71, 000, 0000hits.  The ranking of the reference articles’ is based on the article usefulness and relevancy based on the search topic. For instance, Google’s ranking system sorts through billions of articles and web pages to identify the most useful and relevant ones. The ranking system helps the researcher access the most relevant information.

Narrowing a Research

There are various steps that a researcher can use to narrow the search for information on a clinical topic. The first step is picking a clinical topic and collecting background information about the topic. The researcher should know the topic’s major concepts, issues surrounding the subject matter, and key terms that describe the subject. Based on the background information, the researcher should make a claim that can be supported or argued against. An example of such claim includes self-care management education rather than usual care n improves patients with type 2 diabetes quality of life. 

The last step is narrowing the topic using the background information. For instance, the researcher should know what he/she is researching about, the issue or question he/she wants to solve, and the researcher’s purpose. An example of a narrowed topic is: I am researching self-care management education programs because I want to determine their effectiveness in improving the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore narrowing down a topic requires the researcher to identify major concepts and search them.  My research major concepts included type 2 diabetes, self-management education, patient, and quality of life

Why it is Necessary to Narrow a Research

Narrowing a topic ensures that the researcher focuses on something specific to examine it in detail. Also, narrowing a topic determines the research direction. The search that I found to be most effective and useful on my clinical topic was the use of online databases, especially CINAHL because it contained various researches done by professionals. Additionally, the articles’ publication and authorship information were clear, and the database pinpointed topics and refined searchers.

The Difference between a Search Engine and A database for Locating Relevant Practice Information

Library databases enhance individuals’ access to published information like newspaper articles, journals, and magazines. Additionally, these databases can be discipline-specific or general. In contrast, a search engine like Yahoo or Google utilizes computer algorithms to identify information that matches the users’ keywords and characters. My preferred search engine is a database because I can access numerous peer-reviewed articles whose information is reliable and relevant compared to those on search engines.

References

Abdulah, D. M., Hassan, A. B., Saadi, F. S., & Mohammed, A. H. (2018). Impacts of self-management education on glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 12(6), 969-975. ,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2018.06.007

Baraz, S., Zarea, K., & Shahbazian, H. B. (2017). Impact of the self-care education program on quality of life in patients with type II diabetes. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 11, S1065-S1068. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2017.07.043

Palmer, C. (2017). Providing self-management education to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Addressing basic nutrition and hypoglycemia. The Nurse Practitioner, 42(11), 36-42.