ASSIGNMENT HELP | Week 2: Refinement of a Nursing Concern into an Evidence-based Practice Proposal Using the Research Process

PURPOSE
This assignment provides the opportunity for the student to continue work on a previously identified area or phenomenon of interest related to their MSN specialty track. Week Two’s assignment builds upon the identified area of interest by developing an overview of the evidence-based practice (EBP) project and the PCIOT/PICo question.

This assignment initiates the evidence-based practice proposal that is continued throughout the entire course with each assignment adding components of the research process.

COURSE OUTCOMES
This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:
CO#1 Integrate evidence-based practice and research to support advancement of holistic nursing care in diverse healthcare settings. PO 1
CO#2 Integrate knowledge related to evidence-based practice and person-centered care to improve healthcare outcomes. PO 2, 5
CO#4 Develop knowledge related to research and evidence-based practice as a basis for designing and critiquing research studies. PO 1, 2, 3, 5
DUE DATE: Sunday 11:59 PM MT at the end of Week Two
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 150 POINTS

REQUIREMENTS
Description of the Assignment
This assignment builds on the identification of a nursing concern from NR 500 and the application of a nursing theory to the selected concern from NR 501. For this course, the selected concern and nursing theory then serve as a foundation to the identification of PICOT/PICo. Identification of the literature search strategy is also required. The purpose of the MSN project proposal is to translate evidence currently found in the literature into practice within the chosen specialty track. Due to the research complexity, time involvement, and implications regarding human subjects, drug studies are not acceptable areas of interest for a MSN project.

Criteria for Content
1. Overview of Selected Evidenced-based Practice Project: This section provides a foundation to the MSN EBP scholarly project. It should contain the following elements:
• Explain the relationship between research and evidenced-based practice (EBP)
• Distinguish how EBP is different from research
• Explain the contribution of EBP to professional nursing
• Identify your MSN Program Specialty Track and practice focus
• Explain how EBP promotes change within your future practice setting

2. Identification of the Nursing Concern to be Improved: This section provides a comprehensive discussion of the selected nursing concern. It should contain the following elements:
• Explain the selected nursing concern in detail
• Identify how frequently the selected concern occurs within your specialty track setting
• Identify the stakeholders impacted by the concern
• Identify the consequences of the selected concern
• Identify your proposed solution to the selected concern
• Identify a purpose statement for this EBP proposal

3. PICOT/PICo question and Literature Search Process: This section identifies the PICOT/PICo question that will used for this EBP proposal. The literature search parameters will also be identified. It should contain the following elements:
• Identify the question in correct format with all required elements
o PICOT for quantitative research approach
o PICo for qualitative research approach
• Identify how the expected outcome will be useful to your future practice setting
• Discuss the purpose of conducting a literature review and the contribution it will provide to this EBP proposal
• Identify the steps used to conduct a literature review for this EBP proposal by including:
o The specific library databases used
o The key search terms and phrases used
o The minor (additional) search terms and phrases used
o Identify any specialty organization that is relevant to this EBP proposal

4. Theoretical Framework: This section presents the theoretical framework that will used in this EBP project. It should contain the following section:
• Explain the theoretical framework to be used in this EBP proposal
• Describe how the identified theoretical framework is applied to this EBP proposal

PREPARING THE ASSIGNMENT
Criteria for Format and Special Instructions
1. The paper (excluding the title page and reference page) should be at least 5, but no more than 8 pages. Points will be lost for not meeting these length requirements.
2. Title page, running head, body of paper, and reference page must follow APA guidelines as found in the 6th edition of the manual. This includes the use of headings for each section of the paper except for the introduction where no heading is used.
3. A minimum of 6 (six) appropriate research-based scholarly references must be used. Required textbook for this course, dictionary and Chamberlain College of Nursing lesson information may NOT be used as scholarly references for this assignment. For additional assistance regarding scholarly nursing references, please see “What is a scholarly source” located in the Course Resources tab. Be aware that information from .com websites may be incorrect and should be avoided. References are current – within a 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided and the instructor has approved them prior to submission of the assignment.
4. Ideas and information from scholarly, peer reviewed, nursing sources must be cited and referenced correctly.
5. Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are followed and consistent with formal, scientific writing.
This is the PICO I have been referring in this class.

Will You Be Using a Quantitative or Qualitative Approach for Your EBP Project Proposal?
I will be using qualitative approach for my Evidence Based Practice Project through qualitative interviews and analyzing the data using a methodology that can be interpreted to explore how the various interviewed groups perceive hand washing and general hygiene in nursing practice. The methodology will involve developing themes that analyze individuals, the workforce and the management on what they perceive about hand washing (Randle, Arthur, & Vaughan, 2010).
Explain Why This Approach Is the Best One to Provide Information for Your Area of Interest
It is first important to underscore the fact that both quantitative and qualitative approaches provide data that is crucial in evidence based practice. However, I opted to use qualitative approach because it supports both personal and experimental knowledge whose implementation will be critical in my chosen evidence based practice. Besides this, qualitative approach provides findings which are easy to interpret for many nursing practitioners (Pincock, Bernstein, Warthman & Holst, 2012). Qualitative approaches also involve the patients through interviews and questionnaires and as such they feel part of the exercise. For my chosen EBP, it will help them advocate more for hand washing as the results provided will be directly linked to what they provide as feedback.
Create A PICOT/Pico Question Using The PICOT/Pico Format for Quantitative and Pico for Qualitative Approaches.
So does the effective hand washing and frequency of hand washing among health care workers determine the rate of Health Care Acquired Infections (HAI’s)? My PICOT question based on qualitative approach will be as follows.
P: The problem is improper hand washing as well as low hand washing frequency among health care workers as a source of health care related infections.
I: The intervention is training and educating health care workers on the need to not only wash hands but do it frequently to reduce the rate of Health Care acquired Infections
C: The comparison we make is for hospital workers who properly and frequently wash their hands with those who don’t wash well or wash but not frequently
O: The expected outcome is reduction of the Health Acquired Infections due to improved hand washing practices.
T: The time could be the length the health care worker stays in hospital.
Identify Your Practice Question, Being Sure to Include the Following.
Phenomenon or Concept of Interest
It is common knowledge that effective hand washing practices helps reduce the rate of infections in a hospital setting. A wrong assumption however continues to be made that such infections are as a result of patient transmission and not health care workers. The logic I try to pass through my EBP is to also consider health care workers as a way of helping to curb the rate of spread of infections. My essay leaned towards health care workers other than patients.
Group or Population of Interest
The first group to be targeted is the health care workers since they form the central reason for the research. Secondly, it will be important to look at how the hospital management helps promote hand washing practices among workers, Patients will also be interviewed to analyze their perception on hand washing practices among health care workers.
Suggestion of Which Qualitative Research Design Is Being Used
The suggested research design is to use respondents through questionnaires as well as one on one interviews. Since there is a target group, it will be important to do careful sampling based on departments or the position the health care worker holds so that data is even more meaningful when interpreted. The sampling will also be important as it may not be possible to conduct research for all workers and hence the sampled ones may be a representative of what the report was intended to serve.

References
Pincock, T., Bernstein, P., Warthman, S., & Holst, E. (2012). Bundling hand hygiene interventions and measurement to decrease health care–associated infections. American journal of infection control, 40(4), S18-S27.
Randle, J., Arthur, A., & Vaughan, N. (2010). Twenty-four-hour observational study of hospital hand hygiene compliance. Journal of Hospital Infection, 76(3), 252-255.

MODEL ANSWER

Evidence-Based Practice Proposal

In any scholarly work, evidence of literature forms the basis of any scientific arguments. Building up on a proposal requires a critical analysis of what other scholars say, the gap that does exists and how the proposed work seeks to fill that gap. In the same vain, evidence-based practice proposal of an area of concern always serve as the foundation to the identification of a certain PICOT question (Randle, Arthur & Vaughan, 2010). To realize this, we need to translate what evidence lies in literature and how it can be translated into practice. This essay therefore is meant to provide an overview of the selected evidence-based practice and how it relates to research, an identification of the nursing concern that needs improvement, the PICOT/PICO question and the literature search process/parameters used and finally the theoretical framework which will be used in the Evidence-based Project.

The Relationship Between Research and EBP

There lies a very direct and non-separable relation between research and evidence-based practice. We can define research as a way of investigating a given area/topic so as to provide new knowledge or to build on already existing information. Relevant research findings directly link to evidence-based practice since nurses use such research findings to inform their clinical practice so as to have an effective service delivery to their patients. Research therefore can be used as a tool in identifying which treatment works, better clinical judgements for better results.

How EBP Is Different from Research From the previous section, we noted that research is mainly about coming up with new knowledge or proving/challenging knowledge that already exists. This is very different from evidence-based practice which does not deal with developing new knowledge but rather relying on the evidence to apply in making critical clinical decisions. Secondly, even though most of the best evidence emanates from research, EBP goes beyond research use and encompasses the expertise of clinicians as well as preferences of patients and the clinical values. EBP is also different from research in that not all evidence coming