Determining the Credibility of Evidence and Resources
Determining the Credibility of Evidence and Resources
Evidence-based research and practice remain a critical approach to dealing with the ever-rising prevalence of chronic conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As such, baccalaureate-prepared nurses have a core role of integrating evidence-based research in clinical practice through quality improvement measures to reduce safety risks and make better decisions on the management of COPD (Al-Jahdali et al., 2025). As the role of evidence-based practice (EBP) continues to evolve in healthcare and nursing, baccalaureate-prepared nurses should discern credible sources of information to make informed clinical decisions and enhance patient outcomes. A systematic approach to these elements amplifies nurses’ skills in EBP treatment, which in turn leads to better treatment outcomes and high-quality care provision (Vega-Olivo et al., 2022). The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze credible evidence that can be used as the foundation for using EBP interventions to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chosen Diagnosis that could benefit from an evidence-based approach
The selected diagnosis is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that serves as the basis for subsequent discussion and examination of possible credible sources on evidence-based practices to manage the condition for better outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2024) observes that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024), COPD is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States, with close to 16 million adults having the condition, while many more are not yet diagnosed or do not know their status.
The American Lung Association (2024) observes that COPD is a progressive lung condition that causes limitation in airflow and breathing issues because of lung damage emanating from prolonged exposure to irritants like smoke, especially from cigarettes. Patients with COPD typically present with a combination of signs and symptoms that include chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and reactive airway disease. Symptoms include a cough that usually worsens in the morning and produces a small level of colorless sputum, breathlessness, and fatigue or feeling tired (Salvi et al., 2024). People with COPD have an increased risk for other health problems that include lung infections, lung cancer, heart diseases, depression, and anxiety (Fu et al., 2022). COPD is mainly present in smokers and individuals over 40 years, implying that smoking and age increase the prevalence (Bazell et al., 2025). The percentage of people with the condition varies across states, with Hawaii having 3% as the lowest and West Virginia, 12% considered higher than the national average. According to the CDC (2024), COPD has no cure but can be managed and treated. As such, without a cure for the condition, developing evidence-based practice interventions, including having sufficient resources, is critical to effective management. Public health professionals and practitioners can help build awareness about COPD and support prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and management strategies.
Criteria for Determining Credibility of Sources
The assessment of resources for management and treatment of COPD is critical to developing evidence-based interventions and practices that lead to quality outcomes and patient safety. Therefore, having effective criteria requires a consideration of various models like the CRAAP approach that evaluates currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose (Tomaszewski, 2025). Currency entails having a resource published in the recent past, at most, within the past five years, while relevance refers to the significance of a resource to a researcher or research team, especially by considering if the information relates to the topic or answers the researcher’s interest (Muis et al., 2022). Authority explores the credibility of the resource’s author and the organization or institution they are affiliated with, such as being an expert in the subject area. For instance, in the nursing area or knowledge, the author should, at the very least, be a nursing expert, researcher, or scholar. Accuracy is about determining the source of information and includes aspects like review of information, whether the evidence gets support or back up, or if another source or an authoritative person. The last aspect is the purpose of the information in the resource, with the question, is the purpose to inform, tell, or educate, and if the intention has been served (Tomaszewski, 2025). Is the information an opinion, fact, or credible evidence from authoritative government data and databases, as well as classified peer-reviewed journal articles? In this case, the paper determined the credibility of evidence-based practice resources for management of COPD using the CRAAP criterion.
Analysis of Credibility and Relevance of Evidence and Resources in the Context of the Selected Diagnosis
The selected resources on the management of COPD offer evidence-based solutions and interventions as they contain and discuss credible and high-quality information. The articles are peer-reviewed and from credible databases like PubMed Central. For instance, Fu et al. (2022) consider an array of evidence-based management approaches for patients with severe COPD through a practice review. Published within the last five years, the article advances that patients can manage severe COPD through a multidisciplinary approach using a holistic approach. The article by Vega-Olivo et al. (2022) uses a case-based review to demonstrate effective approaches to COPD, while Salvi et al. show a 7-point evidence-based discharge protocol for COPD patients. The resource by Hamdan et al. (2025) gives evidence-based guidelines for diagnosing and managing COPD in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, government-based websites by the CDC are credible and relevant resources as they give current data and approaches to managing COPD. Information from international health organizations like the WHO also offers credible and relevant information on awareness and management of COPD. These resources are credible and relevant for the study.
Evidence-Based Practice Model & Integration
Care providers should leverage evidence-based practice models. Evidence-based (EBP) models offer frameworks for nurses to integrate evidence from research, clinical expertise, and patient values and preferences to make optimal care decisions. In this case, the selected evidence-based practice model is the Iowa model, which is considered an effective approach to implementing EBP activities and interventions. The model is appropriate for integration since it provides a systematic approach to evaluating and using research findings in clinical practice (Bell, 2022). The Iowa model facilitates building the capacity and empowers frontline care providers to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate the various interventions to improve the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Cullen et al., 2022). Through its seven systematic steps, from identifying the issue to disseminating the results, the Iowa model will help nurses and other healthcare professionals to implement best practices to reduce the rising prevalence of COPD among middle-aged and older adults in the United States
Conclusion
Evidence-based practice requires healthcare providers to integrate research findings into their clinical settings to enhance care and interaction with patients. Evidence-based practice (EBP) allows healthcare professionals to integrate the best practices into care delivery. Credibility of any research entails evaluating it using certain tests and metrics to ascertain its quality, relevance, and purpose in addressing health care issues like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Iowa EBP model is the most appropriate to evaluate and integrate best practices in COPD management to reduce its prevalence in the US population.
References
Al-Jahdali, H., Al-Lehebi, R., Lababidi, H., Alhejaili, F. F., Habis, Y., Alsowayan, W. A., … &
Alhamad, E. H. (2025). The Saudi Thoracic Society’s Evidence-based guidelines for the
diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Annals of
Thoracic Medicine, 20(1):1-35. DOI: 10.4103/atm.atm_155_24
American Lung Association (ALA) (2025). COPD Trends Brief: Prevalence.
https://www.lung.org/research/trends-in-lung-disease/copd-trends-brief/copd-prevalence
Bazell, C., Alston, M., Feigler, N., Germack, H. D., Leary, S., Fopalan, W., & Mannino, D.
(2025). Variation in Prevalence and Burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
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Determining the Credibility of Evidence and Resources
Develop a 2-4 page scholarly paper in which you describe the diagnosis you researched for the previous assessment (COPD), and then identify and analyze credible evidence that could be used as the basis for applying EBP to the issue.
The purpose of this analysis is to better understand what constitutes credibility of journal articles as well as websites. The role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in incorporating evidence-based research continues to growth in clinical practice. As quality improvement (QI) measures to reduce safety risks continue to be emphasized, the need for evidence-based models and evidence-based templates is growing. This type of systematic approach to incorporating evidence-based findings allows nurses to make clinical and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence. When the most up-to-date evidence-based findings are utilized, patient-centered care improves outcomes and enhances the patient experience.
Below is a quick review table of several well-known Evidence-Based Practice Models used to guide exploration:
| Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice |
|---|
| Stetler Model |
| Ottawa Model |
| PARiHS (Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services) Model |
| ACE (Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice) Star Model |
| ARCC (Advancing Research and Clinical Practice Through Close Collaboration) Mode |
| John Hopkins Model |
| KTA (Knowledge-to-Action) Model |
For this assessment:
- Explain the criteria that should be used when determining the credibility of journal articles as well as websites.
- Support your explanations with references to the literature or research articles that describe criteria that should be used to determine credibility.
- Your identification and determination of credibility should be done within the context of your chosen diagnosis for this assessment. Your initial identification of resources should be of resources that will best help address the presented diagnosis you selected. Since you are locating resources to help provide evidence-based care for the diagnosis/health care issue you identified in the first assessment, you may want to begin your literature and evidence search from the databases that were identified.
Be sure to address the following in this assessment, which correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you will know what is needed for a distinguished score.
- Describe a chosen diagnosis that could benefit from an evidence-based approach.
- Explain criteria that should be considered when determining credibility of resources such as journal articles and websites.
- Analyze the credibility and relevance of evidence and resources within the context of a chosen diagnosis.
- This is where you are selecting the specific resources to help address the diagnosis you selected for the first assessment.
- Identify the Evidence-Based Practice model and explain the importance of incorporating credible evidence into the EBP model used to address a chosen diagnosis. Review the literature below and choose the appropriate model for your diagnosis.