A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 8000 Assignment 1 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.

Literature searches in preparation for conducting a comprehensive literature review are crucial in generating new search ideas, improving individual knowledge concerning the topic at hand, and evaluating commonly used methodologies (Xiao, & Watson, 2019). Focusing on improving my knowledge in psychology, I followed several steps in locating relevant updated pieces of literature for review. The first step was to develop a research question, followed by a mind map of the research topic.

I then developed keywords, while considering appropriate databases such as PsycINFO, PEP-Web, Academic Search Complete, ScienceDirect, EBSCO Cinahl, and Scopus among others. I started broad, then refined the search outcome by utilizing search operators, such as “AND” “OR” and “NOT.” Limiters such as age, gender, methodology, and timeframe helped in narrowing down to only relevant articles. I also investigated the citations to ensure that the information was valid and reliable. My literature review was based on the following research topic: “The impact of social anxiety among the adolescent population.”

Article Reviews

The first article by Field, (2020) is a narrative review based on a literature search on PubMed and PsychINFO, to assess the impact of social anxiety on adolescents. The study utilized 53 papers, published from the year 2018 to 2020. The research also focused on the prevalence, risk factors, comorbidities, and interventions for social anxiety among adolescents. Based on the study outcome, it was discovered that the prevalence of social anxiety among adolescents ranged from 2% to 25%. The impacts of social anxiety on adolescents, as reported by the researcher include depression, poor academic performance, internet addiction, gaming, and emotion regulation problems.

For the second study, Chiu, Clark, & Leigh, (2021) carried out a systemic review and meta-analysis aimed at examining peer functioning and social anxiety among adolescents. Relevant articles were drawn from PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, and EMBASE. It was discovered that peer rejection, poor friendship quality, and peer victimization were all associated with late social anxiety.

The last study conducted by Seema, & Kumar, (2017) was aimed at determining the relationship and gender differences between social anxiety and self-esteem among adolescents. A sample size of 200 adolescent students between the age of 16 to 18 years from several colleges in Bangalore city was utilized for the study.

Social Phobia inventory and Rosenberg Self-esteem scale were used to collect data, which was statistically analyzed through SPSS. The results indicate a negative relationship between self-esteem and social anxiety among adolescents. The negative impacts of social anxiety were more pronounced among female adolescents as compared to the males.

Synthesis of the Articles

All three articles reported a negative impact of social anxiety on the social and personal lives of adolescents. While Field, (2020) and Chiu, Clark, & Leigh, (2021) utilized systemic literature review to conduct their studies, Seema, & Kumar, (2017) carried out a field study, with first-hand data from 200 participants. The study by Seema, & Kumar, (2017) also examined the relationship between gender difference and social anxiety, which revealed that female adolescents were affected more than males.

Differences between Summarizing and Synthesizing Research

Synthesizing research can be considered as the process of making a summary that links all the reviewed articles (Xiao, & Watson, 2019). Rather than just restating the significant points displayed in the individual articles, a research synthesis, involves the combination of ideas, which allows an evolved understanding of the content.

References

Field, T. (2020). Social Anxiety in Adolescents: A Narrative Review. J Anxiety Depress, 3(2), 127. https://dx.doi.org/10.46527/2582-3264.127

Chiu, K., Clark, D. M., & Leigh, E. (2021). Prospective associations between peer functioning and social anxiety in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 279, 650-661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.055

Seema, G. B., & Kumar, G. V. (2017). Self-esteem and social anxiety in adolescent students. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 12(2), 247-254. https://doi.org/10.15614/ijpp%2F2017%2Fv8i3%2F162018

Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2019). Guidance on conducting a systematic literature review. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 39(1), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X17723971

Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our Verified MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS NURS 8000 Assignment 1 Locating and Critically Analyzing Primary Research Articles:

As a student pursuing further education in the field of nursing, it is critical to develop skills that promote research proficiency, that is, the ability to locate sites with scholarly articles, read them, and perform critical analysis and evaluation.
This is what will lead to success in nursing research and career advancement as a credible scientist who can actively participate in the generation of new knowledge and skills that promote safer and more efficient nursing practices.
CINAHL Plus and PubMed (Medline) are two databases that contain scholarly nursing work (Hopia & Heikkilä, 2019). The goal of this paper is to select two articles from online nursing resources, write a summary for each, synthesize the articles from a scholarly standpoint, and discuss the difference between summarizing and synthesizing research articles.

The first article examined was on evidence-based practice, with a focus on community nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, implementation, facilitators, and barriers (Li et al., 2019). This article focuses on community nurses’ perceptions of EBP projects and the challenges they face in carrying them out.

The CNs have observed that EBP projects have not been effective in their healthcare service delivery because they believe it is strongly associated with advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and they find it difficult to relate it to their own practice. It also highlights the challenges that CNs face in successfully implementing their EBP projects. The barriers are primarily related to a lack of time, resources, knowledge, and training, as well as a lack of motivation that discourages them from undertaking such projects.

In my second article review, I read Lehane et al(2018) .’s article Evidence-based practice education for healthcare professionals: an expert review. According to the authors of the article, while EBP-projects are critical to promoting patient safety and quality care, their implementation remains a significant challenge for most healthcare practitioners.

There is a constant need to communicate research evidence to relevant stakeholders, particularly healthcare educators who are better placed to articulate the EBP research process and importance. It is the responsibility of nursing academicians and clinical educators to promote the dissemination and successful application of EBP research findings in practice. This will eventually lead to better care and more up-to-date methods that are supported by research evidence and data (Lehane et al., 2018).

The focus of the two articles’ synthesis is evidence-based practice in nursing research. The first article examines EBP in relation to community nurses. The research article emphasizes the importance of incorporating EBP into community nurse practice as a means of promoting quality care and patient safety. However, there are obstacles that CNs must overcome in order to effectively incorporate EBP findings into their practice.

Efforts have been made over the years to promote the full incorporation of EBP findings into nursing practice. To strengthen the nurse’s approach to EBP and bridge the gap between EBP results and practice, a three-pronged approach based on education, leadership, and practice is used (Warren et al., 2016). These recommendations complement the second article, which emphasizes the importance of education in promoting successful EBP implementation. Educational programs emphasizing better ways for nurses to ensure proper EBP procedures are followed, that they understand the rationale, and that they can successfully implement it in practice (Worum et al., 2019).

Summarizing entails reading the entire text and identifying the main points of the article. This requires the use of one’s own words in creating the summary, which is intended to provide a general overview of the entire article. However, in order to synthesize the article, one must conduct a critical review of the article, drawing comparisons and conclusions in relation to other articles and developing a comprehensive conclusion.

These two aspects are critical in nursing literature reviews because they help nursing students develop a thorough understanding of the available literature sources on various nursing research studies and how they can be best applied in practice (Aveyard & Bradbury-Jones, 2019).

In conclusion, the process of locating and critically analyzing primary nursing literature sources is critical in the development of intellectual competency and the promotion of critical thinking in advanced nursing studies. It is critical for a nurse who wishes to continue her education and advance to the doctorate level in nursing to develop such skills in order to make future research work more manageable and productive.

I believe that nursing students have access to a variety of credible databases that provide them with adequate resources to broaden their scope of knowledge and stimulate further research aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services provided.