Nursing Research

1. Nursing Research

2. Gaining knowledge in nursing • Tradition: • “It’s always been done this way” • Information seeking: • “Let’s see what the experts have to say” • Experience: • “I found that this works best…” • Problem solving/trial & error: • “If this doesn’t work, let’s try it this way…” • Research…

3. What Is Research? It means: “to search again” It involves: • Diligent and systematic inquiry • Planning & organization • Persistence • Discovery • New knowledge about topics • Learning about new areas of study

4. Why Is Research Important? • Develop an evidence-based practice for nursing that promotes improved outcomes for: • Patients and families • Nurses • Health care system

5. Definition of Nursing Research • A scientific process that validates and refines existing knowledge and generates new knowledge that directly and indirectly influences nursing practice. • Nursing research is essential for developing and refining knowledge that can be used to improve clinical practice

6. Providing evidence-based care that promotes quality outcomes for patients, families, health care providers, and the health care system Ultimate goal of nursing research: Generation of an empirical knowledge base to guide nursing practice Ultimate goal of nursing:

7. Through nursing research, scientific knowledge can be developed to improve nursing care, patient outcomes, and the health care delivery system

8. Scientific knowledge: • Needed to improve nurses’ decision making in prioritizing and organizing their nursing care Solid research base: • Needed to document the effectiveness of selected nursing interventions in treating particular patient problems and promoting positive patient and family outcomes

9. Types of nursing research • Quantitative research: uses numbers, precise measurement • Examples: rates of wound healing, control of BP or blood sugar • Qualitative research: explores feelings, experiences, cultures, philosophies • Examples: what does it feel like to have cancer? How do nurses define patient satisfaction?

10. Nursing research • Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are important for nursing research because they generate different kinds of knowledge essential for nursing practice… • Quantitative: • Which drugs are most effective in the treatment of hypertension? • Qualitative: • How does it feel to live with a family member who has a terminal illness?

11. Descriptive research • Exploring and describing phenomena in real-life situations • Provides accurate data about the people or phenomena being studied • Researchers: • discover new meaning • describe what exists • determine the frequency with which something occurs • categorize information

12. Examples of descriptive research • What is the occurrence of lymphoma among Hispanics living in downtown Chicago? • What are the risk factors for decubitus ulcers among paraplegics under age 21? • Which area of the U.S. has the lowest incidence of diabetes? • What time of day is the most common for diabetics to experience hypoglycemia?

13. Correlational research • Purpose is to discover relationships between variables through the use of statistics • Main question for correlational research studies: “What is the relationship between X and Y?” • Note: Correlational research does not try to determine what causes X and Y, just what type of relationship is between the two

14. Examples of correlational research • What is the relationship between knowledge of HIV and condom use in high school students? • What is the relationship among ICU stress and recovery rate for patients recovering from cardiac surgery? • What is the relationship between hardiness, depression and coping in residents of nursing homes?

15. Experimental research • Used to test the effectiveness of nursing interventions • Main goal: figure out cause and effect! • Researcher looks to compare outcomes of patients who receive a new nursing treatment as compared to patients who received the traditional treatment

16. Experimental research • Patients are randomly assigned to the group that receives the new treatment or the group that receives the traditional treatment • Researchers conduct careful measurements to see which treatment is most effective • Researchers conduct experimental research very carefully to make sure that the results are accurate and true

17. Examples of experimental research • What is the effect of a relaxation technique on patients’ postoperative pain and anxiety level? • What is the effectiveness of a breast cancer screening program for women residing in rural areas? • What is the effect of a pre-admission teaching program on patients’ postoperative activity level and length of hospital stay?

18. Historical research • Examines events of the past • Philosophy: One can learn from the past, and the search for wisdom in which the historian examines what has been, what is, and what ought to be • Examples: • The early years of nursing in Ireland • Determining the worth of nurses’ work: nursing salaries from 1900-1930 • Women giving nursing care during the Civil War

19. BSN role in nursing research • Identify research problems in own clinical practice • Assist with data collection for established studies • Critique research studies for use in own clinical practice • Use research findings in clinical practice

20. You may think that nursing research is kind of a drag… • For many years, nurses have performed lots of weird treatments in the hopes of healing wounds. They really did… • Pour bleach, iodine, or milk of magnesia into wounds, trying to kill bacteria that caused infection • Pack wounds with sugar to provide energy to the cells in the wound and promote healing • Power wash wounds to remove dead tissue and promote healing

21. Ah, the power of research… Solid nursing research showed that… • Bleach, iodine, milk of magnesia and power washing actually damage cells that work to heal wounds and form scar tissue • Sugar provides an excellent medium for bacteria and promotes development of infection • Nurse researchers came up with enough evidence to convince physicians to stop using these useless (idiotic??) treatments

22. And now… • Nurse researchers are working on studies in a wide variety of areas, including: • Nursing shortage and nursing education • Roles of advanced practice nurse • Disease management • Health promotion • Caregiver support • Physician-nurse collaboration

23. Evidence-based practice • Use of research findings to: • Promote the understanding of patients’ and families’ experience of health and illness • Implement effective nursing interventions to promote optimal patient health • Provide quality, cost-effective care within the health care system

24. Steps of nursing research1. Identify the problem • Goal of the study • Guides the development of the research objectives and questions • Area of concern where there is a gap in the knowledge base needed for nursing practice • Research is needed to generate knowledge to address the problem  ultimate goal is evidence-based nursing care

25. Steps of nursing research2. Pick the study design • Blueprint for the study • Maximizes control over factors that interfere with the study • Is tailored to the individual study • Precision and care within the study design increase the odds that the study findings will be valid (an accurate reflection of reality)

26. Steps of nursing research3. Conduct the study • Gather subjects for the study • Collect the data • Accuracy & consistency are very important to ensure that the data is correct and truthful • Researchers must work to minimize error in the data collection process

27. Steps of nursing research4. Analyze the data • Statistical procedures are used to examine the numerical data gathered in a study • Enter data into computer and check for errors • Perform analysis of the data using statistics designed for the research process • Interpret the data to develop findings and conclusions

28. Steps of nursing research5. Use the findings • Adapt the research study findings so that they can be used in clinical practice • Spread the word about the study and findings through journal articles and conferences • Come up with recommendations for further research • * Research is not done when a study is completed- more research is always waiting to be done!

29. Ethics and nursing research Right to anonymity and confidentiality • Anonymity: when subject’s identity cannot be linked, even by the researcher, with his/her individual responses • Confidentiality: when subjects’ identity and information is kept anonymous from others

30. Confidentiality • Researcher’s management of private information shared by a subject • Researchers must not sharethis information without consent of the subject • Breach of confidentiality: • when researcher allows unauthorized person to gain access to confidential study information • When subject’s identity is revealed when study is published/reported

31. Scientific misconduct Plagiarism: • Intentionally representing someone else’s work as your own • Rewording your own paper to create a new paper based on the same data • Sharing confidential information from others

32. Research misconduct • Fabrication: making up results • Falsification: changing results • Plagiarism: copying results