Evidence-Based Project, Part 1: Identifying Research Methodologies
Identifying Research Methodologies
Clinical issues hamper care quality and patient safety while increasing healthcare costs. Understanding the impacts of such issues and formulating evidence-based interventions are among nurse’s roles in the pursuit of the desired health outcomes. Patient falls are among issues with profound implications on patient care. Nursing research has studied the effectiveness of various interventions that could be prevented in various care facilities. The purpose of this matrix worksheet is to compare research methodologies of articles on fall prevention strategies.
Matrix Worksheet
| Full citation of selected article | Article #1 | Article #2 | Article #3 | Article #4 |
| Liu-Ambrose, T., Davis, J. C., Best, J. R., Dian, L., Madden, K., Cook, W., … & Khan, K. M. (2019). Effect of a home-based exercise program on subsequent falls among community-dwelling high-risk older adults after a fall: a randomized clinical trial. Jama, 321(21), 2092-2100. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.5795 | Rikkonen, T., Sund, R., Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., Sirola, J., Honkanen, R., & Kröger, H. (2023). Effectiveness of exercise on fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults: a 2-year randomized controlled study of 914 women. Age and Ageing, 52(4), afad059. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad084 | Vincenzo, J. L., Patton, S. K., Lefler, L. L., McElfish, P. A., Wei, J., & Curran, G. M. (2022). A qualitative study of older adults’ facilitators, barriers, and cues to action to engage in falls prevention using health belief model constructs. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 99, 104610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104610 | Finnegan, S., Bruce, J., & Seers, K. (2021). Life after falls prevention exercise–experiences of older people taking part in a clinical trial: a phenomenological study. BMC Geriatrics, 21(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02037-9 | |
| Why you chose this article and/or how it relates to the clinical issue of interest (include a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest) | I chose the article since it describes how to prevent patient falls among older adults through exercise-based interventions. It compares outcomes between a home-based exercise program and usual care.
Research ethics: all participants agreed to participate by providing written informed consent. |
The article describes the implementation and effectiveness of exercise interventions for falls and injuries.
Research ethics: researchers ensured voluntary participation and excluded participants with conditions that could increase risk (harm reduction) |
The article analyzes the barriers, facilitators, and cues to action to engage in fall prevention exercises. It guides healthcare providers on measures necessary to improve outcomes.
Research ethics: researchers ensured informed consent and participants’ anonymity. |
The article describes participants’ lived experiences of a fall prevention exercise program. It is a study of perceptions and life beyond the intervention.
Research ethics: voluntary participation via informed consent is highlighted. |
| Brief description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed article | The research aimed to evaluate whether a home-based exercise program can reduce falls among older adults vising a community-based fall prevention clinic. | The research determined whether participating in a communal exercise intervention could decrease falls and related injuries. Participants were enrolled in gym and Tai Chi sessions. | The research determined older adults’ perceptions of fall prevention programs. It explored how to support engagement in fall prevention for better outcomes. | The aim of the research was to explore the experiences of older adults who had complected a fall prevention exercise program and their life after the intervention. |
| Brief description of the research methodology used Be sure to identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach. Be specific. | The authors report the findings of a randomized controlled trial. Outcomes are compared between the intervention and control groups. Randomized controlled trials are quantitative research designs. | The research is quantitative since it is a randomized controlled trial. In such trials, outcomes between the intervention and control groups are compared (Vinkers et al., 2021). | The article is qualitative: researchers used a grounded theory approach and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data. | The research is qualitative: researchers conducted a phenomenological interview study among older adults residing in their homes. |
| A brief description of the strengths of each of the research methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected. | Randomized controlled trials allow researchers to compare outcomes between groups by manipulating the treatment (independent variable). This improves reliability and validity. In this article, the intervention group participates in strength and balance training as the control group receives usual care. | Randomized controlled trials are effective in comparing how a treatment affects different groups. Randomization reduces the effect of bias and extraneous variables, improving validity and reliability. In this article, participants were randomized into the intervention (n = 457) and control (n =457) groups. | Focus groups allow researchers to engage the participants directly via interviews. They allow rich data collection and follow-up questions, and the focused questions enable researchers to cover all the relevant issues. In the study, researchers interviewed 27 older adults and analyzed data via deductive content analysis. | The structured questions allow researchers to measure what the interviews are intended to measure. Besides, using the same interviewers makes interviews consistent and accurate in data collection, which improves their validity and reliability. The same interviewers were used in this study. |
| General Notes/Comments | The article expands research on fall prevention via exercise-based programs, an evidence-based approach for improving patient outcomes. | The article is a rich information source of the effectiveness of exercise-based therapies on reducing falls and injuries among patients. | The article expands research on the barriers and facilitators of fall prevention among older adults. It guides nurses on supporting participants effectively for better results. | The article expands research on fall prevention via exercise programs, how patients perceive them, and participants’ life after the programs. |
Conclusion
Patient falls among older adults threaten their safety and quality of life. Exercise-based interventions are reliable, evidence-based strategies for preventing falls and injuries. Although their methods differ, these articles evaluate the effectiveness of exercises among older adults in different contexts. They provide rich information for nursing professionals implementing similar measures for fall prevention in clinical settings to improve patient care.
References
Finnegan, S., Bruce, J., & Seers, K. (2021). Life after falls prevention exercise–experiences of older people taking part in a clinical trial: a phenomenological study. BMC Geriatrics, 21(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02037-9
Liu-Ambrose, T., Davis, J. C., Best, J. R., Dian, L., Madden, K., Cook, W., … & Khan, K. M. (2019). Effect of a home-based exercise program on subsequent falls among community-dwelling high-risk older adults after a fall: a randomized clinical trial. Jama, 321(21), 2092-2100. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.5795
Rikkonen, T., Sund, R., Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., Sirola, J., Honkanen, R., & Kröger, H. (2023). Effectiveness of exercise on fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults: a 2-year randomized controlled study of 914 women. Age and Ageing, 52(4), afad059. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad084
Vincenzo, J. L., Patton, S. K., Lefler, L. L., McElfish, P. A., Wei, J., & Curran, G. M. (2022). A qualitative study of older adults’ facilitators, barriers, and cues to action to engage in falls prevention using health belief model constructs. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 99, 104610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104610
Vinkers, C. H., Lamberink, H. J., Tijdink, J. K., Heus, P., Bouter, L., Glasziou, P., … & Otte, W. M. (2021). The methodological quality of 176,620 randomized controlled trials published between 1966 and 2018 reveals a positive trend but also an urgent need for improvement. PLoS Biology, 19(4), e3001162. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001162
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Is there a difference between “common practice” and “best practice”?
When you first went to work for your current organization, experienced colleagues may have shared with you details about processes and procedures. Perhaps you even attended an orientation session to brief you on these matters. As a “rookie,” you likely kept the nature of your questions to those with answers that would best help you perform your new role.
Over time and with experience, perhaps you recognized aspects of these processes and procedures that you wanted to question further. This is the realm of clinical inquiry.
Clinical inquiry is the practice of asking questions about clinical practice. To continuously improve patient care, all nurses should consistently use clinical inquiry to question why they are doing something the way they are doing it. Do they know why it is done this way, or is it just because we have always done it this way? Is it a common practice or a best practice?
In this Assignment, you will identify clinical areas of interest and inquiry and practice searching for research in support of maintaining or changing these practices. You will also analyze this research to compare research methodologies employed
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and identify a clinical issue of interest that can form the basis of a clinical inquiry. Keep in mind that the clinical issue you identify for your research will stay the same for the entire course.
- Based on the clinical issue of interest and using keywords related to the clinical issue of interest, search at least four different databases in the Walden Library to identify at least four relevant peer-reviewed articles related to your clinical issue of interest. You should not be using systematic reviews for this assignment, select original research articles.
- Review the results of your peer-reviewed research and reflect on the process of using an unfiltered database to search for peer-reviewed research.
- Reflect on the types of research methodologies contained in the four relevant peer-reviewed articles you selected.
Part 1: Identifying Research Methodologies
After reading each of the four peer-reviewed articles you selected, use the Matrix Worksheet template to analyze the methodologies applied in each of the four peer-reviewed articles. Your analysis should include the following:
- The full citation of each peer-reviewed article in APA format.
- A brief (1-paragraph) statement explaining why you chose this peer-reviewed article and/or how it relates to your clinical issue of interest, including a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest.
- A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed article.
- A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the research methodology used. Be sure to identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach. Be specific.
- A brief (1- to 2-paragraph) description of the strengths of each of the research methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected.