Discussion Two: Starting the Research Process 

Discussion Two: Starting the Research Process 

 

Topic: Dementia

Proposed Title: Keeping Dementia Patients Safe at Home.

Research Problem Statement

The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze evidence-based practices for ensuring safety for patients with dementia in home-based care settings. The determination to conduct this research relies massively upon the need to ensure patient safety and improve the quality of life of patients grappling with dementia. It is essential to note that dementia results in various adverse health effects, including deterioration of cognitive capacities, dependency on healthcare services, comprised ability to complete activities for daily living, memory loss, and deaths (Gottesman & Stern, 2019). Amidst the need to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations, home-based caregivers emphasize pharmacologic interventions such as medication administration and adherence to improve dementia symptoms. However, issues of medication tolerance and side effects compromise the effectiveness of pharmacologic interventions, promoting the plausibility of incorporating non-pharmacologic approaches for improving health outcomes and enhancing safety for patients with dementia (Zucchella et al., 2018). Eventually, the existing discrepancies and disparities between pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches form the basis of this study.

Reflection of Personal and Academic Experiences

As a nursing student, I have acquired the art of incorporating nursing research in solving clinical problems and informing decisions to guarantee quality and convenient care. For instance, my academic experience enables me to embrace evidence-based practice (EBP) as an advanced paradigm that allows healthcare professionals to utilize the best evidence in addressing clinical challenges and solving complexities surrounding care delivery. Amidst the need to incorporate EBP in clinical settings, I have acquired skills for analyzing problems, developing research questions by utilizing the PICOT (problem/population, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, and time) framework, and appraising sources to establish their credibility and applicability in answering the research question.

Besides acquiring the art of incorporating nursing research and evidence-based practice in solving clinical problems and improving decisions, I have participated in simulated case scenarios and real-life situations involving patients with life-threatening conditions such as hypertension, cancer, and respiratory complications. These scenarios enhanced my perspective of care by transforming perceptions and instilling the need for balancing between professional, social, and ethical considerations when delivering care. As a result, my academic and personal experiences inspire the topic selection.

Study Variables and Hypothesis

The study will investigate the interplay between dependent and independent variables alongside confounding factors. The independent variables for the research include the type of treatment, patients’ education levels, age, gender, socio-economic status, and underlying health conditions. On the other hand, dependent variables for the research include adherence to pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, measures of cognitive and psychological responses to treatment options, and levels of participation in social activities after safety improvements interventions. Finally, the confounding variables for the study may include researchers’ characteristics, healthcare settings issues, and caregivers’ traits.

Besides the three categories of potential variables for the research, the study will investigate the following hypotheses:

1. Implementing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions equally impacts patient safety among individuals with dementia.
2. Therefore is no significant difference in individual response to safety improvement approaches among patients with dementia in terms of age, gender, and lifestyle.
3. Social determinants of health (SDOH) compromise safety for patients with dementia in home-based care settings.

Ethical Considerations Concerning the Research Problem Statement

It is fundamental to incorporate ethical standards when conducting research involving human subjects. While investigating appropriate interventions for promoting safety for older adults with dementia in home-based care settings, it is vital to practice various ethical principles, including upholding patient autonomy, ensuring beneficence and non-maleficence, providing consent before including participants in the study, and promoting data confidentiality and security. Also, it is crucial to ensure integrity and address conflict of interest before embarking on the research endeavors.

Although dementia affects an individual’s capacity to make informed decisions due to memory loss and altered cognitive functions, it is essential to guarantee participants’ autonomy by collaborating with their family members, relatives, and caregivers to ensure their participation in research activities (Altawalbeh et al., 2019). In this sense, researchers should ensure transparency and integrity by providing consent before commencing the research activities and protecting participants with diminished autonomy.

How the Selected Problem Might Contribute to Positive Changes

Often, healthcare workers in home-based care settings grapple with challenges to ensure safety for patients with dementia due to uncertainties and disparities among pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. In this sense, the issues of medication adherence and tolerance are prevalent among older patients with dementia, compromising the plausibility of pharmacologic interventions (Zucchella et al., 2018). On the other hand, challenges such as patient falls, resource constraints and lack of care coordination reduce the effectiveness of non-pharmacological approaches such as behavioral and psychological therapies, group-focused activities, and cognitive stimulation strategies.

Consequently, investigating evidence-based practices for ensuring safety for patients with dementia avails opportunities for addressing literature gaps pertinent to contributions of drug and non-drug-safe treatment options. Also, this research problem is consistent with the need to reveal the most profound care approaches that promote cognitive functions and address behavioral disorders for patients with dementia. As a result, findings from the study can narrow down to clinical guidelines for promoting safety and positive health outcomes of patients with dementia.

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References

Altawalbeh, S. M., Alkhateeb, F. M., & Attarabeen, O. F. (2019). Ethical issues in consenting older adults: Academic researchers and Community Perspectives. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 11(1), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/jphs.12327

Gottesman, R. T., & Stern, Y. (2019). Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of dementia and rate of decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.01062

Zucchella, C., Sinforiani, E., Tamburin, S., Federico, A., Mantovani, E., Bernini, S., Casale, R., & Bartolo, M. (2018). The multidisciplinary approach to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A narrative review of non-pharmacological treatment. Frontiers in Neurology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2018.01058

 

Week two: Discussion Two

Discussion: Starting the Research Process
You are a pediatric nurse working with a facility to increase awareness and understanding concerning childhood immunizations. You notice there is a lack of understanding from parents about the benefit of these immunizations, and you begin to consider how you might research ways to improve immunization rates. You develop a research problem statement and begin to examine the research purpose for possible solutions.
As outlined in the scenario, a research problem statement identifies an area of need in which there is a gap in knowledge or practice, and interest by a nurse researcher. Either from a hypothetical or real-world experience, nursing research problem statements help to focus the research purpose and guide the study of the problem.

Photo Credit: [kaan tanman]/[E+]/Getty Images
For this Discussion, you will develop your own research problem statement on a topic of interest to you. Reflect on your personal and academic experiences to consider which research problem you might address. My interest focuses on keeping Dementia patients safe at home.
To Prepare:
• Review the Learning Resources regarding research problem statements and consider how you might formulate a research problem statement.
• Reflect on your personal, professional, and academic experiences to identify a topic of interest to focus on for developing a research problem statement
• Consider what study variables and hypothesis would support your research problem statement.
• Consider any ethical considerations that you should keep in mind in relation to your research problem statement.
• Consider how the selected research problem might contribute to positive nurse practice changes.
By Day 3 of Week 2
Post a proposed research problem statement, including your study variables and hypothesis to make your problem statement clear. Explain any ethical considerations you should keep in mind in relation to your research problem statement. Then, explain how addressing this research problem may bring about positive nursing practice change. Be specific and provide examples.