NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

Walden University NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES– Step-By-Step Guide

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

How to Research and Prepare for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

How to Write the Introduction for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

The introduction for the Walden University NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

How to Write the Body for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

How to Write the Conclusion for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

How to Format the References List for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Sample Answer for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

Students pursuing advanced nursing education require and should develop research skills so that they can locate and critically analyze articles to attain evidence for implementation in their practice settings. Through this approach, they attain not just success in nursing research but also advance in their careers as well-informed practitioners who leverage evidence-based practice (EBP) interventions to offer patient-centered care and reduce hospital readmission (Charosaei et al., 2021). The Walden University library offers resources and databases for advanced nursing students to conduct research and locate scholarly articles. Imperatively, through these databases which include PubMed Central, Medline, and CINAHL as well as BMC Central, one can locate articles on the topic of interest using keywords or terms. The purpose of this paper is to locate and analyze three articles from online resources provided by the identified databases or journals, summarize, and synthesize them from a scholarly perspective. In its final part, the paper explores the differences between summarizing and synthesizing research articles.

Article 1

The first article is by Bokhour et al. (2018) and focuses on strategies that healthcare organizations can implement to offer patient-centered care. According to the authors, a core part of implementing patient-centered care (PCC) is transforming the organization’s culture of care. Using the Department of Veterans Affairs, the authors conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with employees to identify various factors that help entities to offer patient-centered care like effective leadership, patient and family engagement, engaging the staff, and focusing on innovation among other aspects. In their conclusion, the authors are categorical that an effective organizational culture is key to offering patient-centered care.

Article 2

The article by Hower et al. (2019) explores the organizational determinants from decision makers’ point-of-view on implementing patient-centered care. Using a qualitative approach across different health and social care organizations (HSCOs), the authors found that various aspects were important and determined the level of patient-centered care (PCC) that each facility can offer. Among these include effective communication among staff, addressing staff welfare to motivate them, and overcoming resource constraints, especially financial and human resource issues. The authors conclude by imploring HSCOs to tailor their interventions based on their situations to meet these needs.

Article 3

The third article by Rammohan et al. (2023) discusses the implementation of care transition teams to reduce hospital readmission and enhance patient outcomes. Using a two-phase study approach to investigate readmission rates and associated risk factors in a community hospital for about five years, and a care transition team after discharge and patient support to evaluate the social determinants of health (SDOHs). As such, the authors emphasize the critical role that care transition teams play in lowering the rates of hospital readmissions rates and mitigating the financial strain on healthcare organizations. The researchers assert that hospitals through care transition teams can lower the overall readmission rates by identifying and addressing individual risk factors that include evaluation of social determinants of health (SDOHs).

Synthesis of the Articles

The three articles emphasize the need for healthcare organizations to develop and implement effective strategies aimed at providing patient-centered care that can reduce hospital readmissions. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2020), patient-tailored interventions lead to increased participation of patients in their care plans and management of their condition. Tailoring these interventions ensures that patients get quality care based on care transition teams to reduce possible readmissions. Through these articles, one can identify the relationship between patient-centered care and reduced rates of readmissions, especially within the first thirty days after discharge. The articles are categorical that providing patient-centered care leads to improved care quality and reduces the possibility of readmissions.

Differences Between Summary and Synthesis of Articles

Article summary and synthesis are different based on the goals and focus. At the core of the article’s summary is detailing the topic of the study, methods, and approaches used, the results of the research, and the conclusion. The summary also outlines the main themes of the article. Conversely, synthesizing an article means identifying and critically analyzing the themes and areas of study covered by the authors. Article synthesis entails giving a more in-depth interpretation of the sources and their relevance to the practice issue being researched.

Conclusion

Locating and critically analyzing research articles is a core part of nurturing advanced nursing students’ research skills and attributes. Through this approach, nursing students enhance their ability to attain research evidence and implement it in practice settings to solve patient issues. The implication is that critical analysis entails synthesizing the articles to determine the common themes and their connection to the research goals and interests of the research.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2020). Rethinking the Role of Primary

Care in Reducing Hospital Readmissions. https://www.ahrq.gov/news/blog/ahrqviews/rethinking-role-of-primary-care.html

Bokhour, B. G., Fix, G. M., Mueller, N. M., Barker, A. M., Lavela, S. L., Hill, J. N., … & Lukas,

C. V. (2018). How can healthcare organizations implement patient-centered care? Examining a large-scale cultural transformation. BMC health services research, 18(1), 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-2949-5

Charosaei, F., Rostami, S., Esmaeili, M., Molavynejad, S., & Vanaki, Z. (2021). Effective

strategies for implementing patient-centered care in cardiac care unit: An opportunity for change. Journal of education and health promotion, 10. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-019-05428-2

Hower, K. I., Vennedey, V., Hillen, H. A., Kuntz, L., Stock, S., Pfaff, H., & Ansmann, L. (2019).

Implementation of patient-centered care: which organizational determinants matter from the decision maker’s perspective? Results from a qualitative interview study across various health and social care organizations. BMJ open, 9(4), e027591. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027591

Rammohan R, Joy M, Magam S, et al. (May 15, 2023) The Path to Sustainable Healthcare:

Implementing Care Transition Teams to Mitigate Hospital Readmissions and Improve Patient Outcomes. Cureus, 15(5): e39022. DOI:10.7759/cureus.39022

Sample Answer 2 for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

One of the skills that have to be well developed by a DNP student is research skills, as DNP-prepared nurses are required to formulate solutions to various clinical problems. Central to the skill is an appropriate choice of a topic that forms the basis of a problems statement and uses the fundamentals of research to search in various databases to get relevant information. Obtaining relevant literature is not the end, but a means to an end as an individual has to analyze the sources and evaluate how well it relates to the topic or the problem in question (Eriksen, & Frandsen, 2018). The purpose of this week’s assignment is to describe how a literature search related to a topic of interest was accomplished and a summary of the selected articles.

The Literature Search

Prior to accomplishing the literature search, the problem’s keywords were noted down to help in narrowing down the search results. For instance, one of the most common healthcare issues is healthcare-acquired infections such as catheter-acquired urinary tract infections. Controlling them is therefore key. Using Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning was then considered as a possible intervention. In searching the databases, keywords were used, and a search was done in databases such as Medline, CIHNAL, PsycINFO, web of science, and google scholar. Various keywords such as “CAUTI,” “management,” and “Prevention,” and “chlorhexidine” were used.

Summary of the Chosen Articles

One of the articles obtained from the literature search is work done by Fasugba et al. This research employed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of utilization of Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning during catheterization in the prevention of CAUTI. With a sample of 1642, the researchers found a positive effect. For instance, upon the use of the intervention, there was a significant reduction of CAUTI cases from thirteen to only four for every one hundred catheter days. By the end of the study, the intervention was found to reduce the cases of CAUTI by 94% (Fasugba et al., 2019).

Another article retrieved is an article authored by Mitchel et al. to compare the efficacy of using saline versus Chlorhexidine in lowering the rates of CAUTI and the cost associated with each. Using a randomized controlled trial study design, the study revealed that using Chlorhexidine was more efficacious and cost-effective than using saline (Mitchel et al., 2019). The use of Chlorhexidine coincided with a significant drop in the cases of CAUTI in the hospitals, reducing admission days hence leading to reduced costs.

In yet another study, Sarani et al. evaluated the impact of using 2% Chlorhexidine and normal saline in perineal care in a comparative study. Using a quantitative quasi-experimental study design, the researchers managed to obtain some relevant results among women who got admitted to the ICU. While the rates of the groups using normal saline had 77% of CAUTI rates, the use of the 2% Chlorhexidine led to a substantially lower value of only 13%, indicating the importance of using Chlorhexidine (Sarani et al., 2020).

Synthesis of the Articles

The negative impacts of CAUTI are reflected in the research efforts dedicated to finding strategies to control it. The three articles summarized in the previous section show to various degrees the efficacy of using Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning. While Fasugba et al. focused solely on Chlorhexidine, Mitchell et al. and Sarani et al. did comparison studies to find out how the use of Chlorhexidine compares with the normal saline in controlling CAUTI ((Mitchel et al., 2019, (Sarani et al., 2020)). All three articles reported statistically significant results hence underpinning the importance of using Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning as an intervention. The level of evidence in these articles is good as they are randomized controlled trials and experimental research studies.

Differences between Summarizing and Synthesizing Research

While the two skills of research summary and research synthesis are both essential for a researcher, the two are different, and it is imperative that a researcher knows the differences. Summarizing research involves restating the key points or findings of research in their own words in a condensed way. On the other hand, synthesizing research entails a combination of ideas from similar sources and bringing in various perspectives and insights through a reflection on the text in question (Gurevitch et al.,2018). The implication is that while through a summary, the important information is pulled together and highlighted, synthesis go steps further to compare and contrast sources, to draw a conclusion, and provide new insights

Conclusion

In conclusion, literature search forms an essential part of the research. A successful and efficient literature search requires that research possesses adept knowledge of using various databases to look for information. In addition, due to the variabilities in the sources obtained, every source must be carefully analyzed and the knowledge synthesized to ascertain if it can be utilized in a setting to solve problems. Therefore, this write-up has focused on literature search, article summary, and a comparison between research synthesis and summary. In addition, a summary of three articles obtained from a database search focusing on a clinical problem has been accomplished.

References

Eriksen, M. B., & Frandsen, T. F. (2018). The impact of patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) as a search strategy tool on literature search quality: a systematic review. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 106(4), 420. https://dx.doi.org/10.5195%2Fjmla.2018.345

Fasugba, O., Cheng, A. C., Gregory, V., Graves, N., Koerner, J., Collignon, P., … & Mitchell, B. G. (2019). Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning in reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections: a multicentre stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 19(6), 611-619. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30736-9.

Gurevitch, J., Koricheva, J., Nakagawa, S., & Stewart, G. (2018). Meta-analysis and the science of research synthesis. Nature, 555(7695), 175-182. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25753

Mitchell, B. G., Fasugba, O., Cheng, A. C., Gregory, V., Koerner, J., Collignon, P., … & Graves, N. (2019). Chlorhexidine versus saline in reducing the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infection: a cost-effectiveness analysis. International journal of nursing studies, 97, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.04.003.

Sarani, H., Pishkar Mofrad, Z., Faghihi, H., & Ghabimi, M. (2020). Comparison of the Effect of Perineal Care with Normal Saline and 2% Chlorhexidine Solution on the Rate of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Women Hospitalized in Intensive Care Units: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Medical-Surgical Nursing Journal, 9(2). https://dx.doi.org/10.5812/msnj.106739

Sample Answer 3 for NURS 8002 Module 4: LOCATING AND CRITICALLY ANALYZING PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

One of the major activities that a DNP nurse participates in is research, usually evidence-based research. As indicated earlier, my interest is in researching reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). This condition is a clinical issue that needs to be mitigated to ensure that the patients have better health outcomes. This write-entails a summary and synthesis of two peer-reviewed articles obtained through the Walden Library search pertaining to reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Summary of The Articles

One of the articles with the title “Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning in reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections: a multicentre stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial” reported by Fasugba et al. (2019) entails reducing CAUTI. The report compares the efficacy of the use of normal saline and 0.1% chlorhexidine solution in cleaning the meatal area prior to inserting urinary catheters in lowering the incidences of CAUTI. The study used a cross-sectional randomized control trial in the hospitals for a period of three weeks, with a total of 1642 research subjects recruited in three hospitals (Fasugba et al., 2019). While 58% of them were in the intervention period, the remaining 42% were in the control phase. Among the findings is that among the control group, 13 cases of CAUTI were recorded as compared to only 4 cases among the intervention group; hence the intervention was connected to a 94% reduction of the rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

More recently, a study has been reported by Nassikas et al. (2020) with the title “Intensive care unit rounding checklists to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections” This study purposed to determine whether the use of rounding checklist in an intensive care unit lowers the incidences of catheter-associated urinary tract infections. These researchers used a retrospective before-and-after study design. Done in an academic community hospital with a 16 bed ICU unit, the intervention used was an ICU rounding checklist which ensured that the caregivers addressed the use of the indwelling catheters. Analysis was then done to compare the pre-intervention duration with the post-intervention after implementing the checklist. Pre and post-intervention strategy is one of the best ways of determining the efficacy of an intervention in the management of a condition or disease (Spurlock, 2018).  Among the findings obtained from the research is that before the intervention, the unit recorded nineteen CAUTI cases per one thousand catheter days. The rate was found to reduce to 2.12 after the intervention from 4.62 before the implementation of the checklist.

Synthesis of The Sources

The findings of Fasugba et al. (2019) implies that by taking care of the meatal area through thorough cleaning, the rates of CAUTI incidences can greatly be reduced. By employing the normal intervention of using the 0.9% saline solution, whose efficacy has also been shown in previous studies (Khahakaew et al., 2019), this current research was able to demonstrate that the use of 0.1% chlorhexidine solution is more efficacious hence introducing better evidence to practice. Indeed, the findings are in agreement with other studies (Mitchell et al., 2019). However, the findings also differ from other reports where the use of chlorhexidine did not lead to lower incidences of CAUTI, even though that study was a single-site randomized control site.

Several interventions exist for controlling CAUTI. Patients at the ICU particularly need to be free from the infections to give them a better chance of healing; therefore, the study by Nassikas et al. (2020) is significant. They were able to demonstrate that using the checklist in the ICU setting can be vital. These findings can be generalizable in an ICU setting in other locations since the intervention focuses on just using a checklist. It is important to note that this intervention is relatively cost effective, even though at first it may lead to increased use of indwelling catheters, eventually it allows for lower usage rates. The findings are also supported by other studies. For instance, a study done to combine checklist and education intervention effectively reduced the rates of CAUTI (Menegueti et al., 2019).

References

Fasugba, O., Cheng, A. C., Gregory, V., Graves, N., Koerner, J., Collignon, P., … & Mitchell, B. G. (2019). Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning in reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections: a multicentre stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 19(6), 611-619. Doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30736-9.

Khahakaew, S., Suwanpimolkul, G., Wongkeskij, T., Punakabutra, N., & Suankratay, C. (2019, October). 1151. A Comparison of Periurethral Cleaning Between Normal Saline and Savlon Solutions Before Indwelling Urinary Catheterization in Reducing Catheter-Associated Bacteriuria: A Randomized Controlled Study. In Open Forum Infectious Diseases (Vol. 6, No. Supplement_2, pp. S411-S411). US: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofz360.1015

Menegueti, M. G., Ciol, M. A., Bellissimo-Rodrigues, F., Auxiliadora-Martins, M., Gaspar, G. G., da Silva Canini, S. R. M., … & Laus, A. M. (2019). Long-term prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections among critically ill patients through the implementation of an educational program and a daily checklist for maintenance of indwelling urinary catheters: a quasi-experimental study. Medicine, 98(8). Doi 10.1097/MD.0000000000014417.

Mitchell, B. G., Fasugba, O., Cheng, A. C., Gregory, V., Koerner, J., Collignon, P., … & Graves, N. (2019). Chlorhexidine versus saline in reducing the risk of catheter associated urinary tract infection: a cost-effectiveness analysis. International journal of nursing studies, 97, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.04.003.

Nassikas, N. J., Monteiro, J. F. G., Pashnik, B., Lynch, J., Carino, G., & Levinson, A. T. (2020). Intensive Care Unit Rounding Checklists to Reduce Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 41(6), 680-683.  Doi: 10.1017/ice.2020.43

Spurlock Jr, D. R. (2018). The single-group, pre-and posttest design in nursing education research: It’s time to move on. Journal of Nursing Education, 57(2), 69-71. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20180123-02.