With new information continually emerging, professional nurses must be equipped to critique scholarly literature and discern its value for practice. Select one current, quantitative scholarly nursing article related to your PICOT question and determine its strengths, limitations, and potential application.
Complete the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence Based Practice Appendix E Evidence Appraisal Tool Download Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence Based Practice Appendix E Evidence Appraisal Tool. Once you’ve completed the tool, use your own words to summarize your appraisal of the article. Include the following:
- Description of the purpose
- Explanation of research design
- Discussion of sample
- Description of data collection methods
- Summary of findings
- Strengths of the study (minimum of 1)
- Limitations of the study (minimum of 1)
- Recommendations regarding potential application for future practice that are insightful and appropriate.
Attach the article to your post, in addition to including the full reference for the article in your post.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a medical professor, I understand the importance of equipping nursing students with the ability to critically evaluate scholarly literature to enhance their practice. This involves selecting current, quantitative articles related to their PICOT question and evaluating its strengths, limitations, and potential application.
Article Summary:
The article selected for this appraisal is “The Effect of an Educational Program on Nurses’ Oral Care Practices in Intensive Care Units: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” by Zolfaghari et al. (2019).
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program on improving the oral care practices of nurses who work in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Research Design:
This study used a randomized control trial, which gives the highest level of evidence. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group.
Sample:
The study involved 68 ICU nurses from two hospitals in Iran. The intervention group consisted of 35 nurses, while the control group had 33 nurses.
Data Collection Methods:
Data were collected using a questionnaire that collected information on demographic characteristics, oral care practices, and attitudes towards oral care. The questionnaire was administered to both groups at pretest, posttest, and six weeks follow-up.
Findings:
The study showed that the educational program significantly improved the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of nurses in the intervention group compared to the control group. The study also found that the intervention group had a significant reduction in the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia compared to the control group.
Strengths of the Study:
One strength of this study is the use of a randomized control trial design. Another strength is the use of a valid and reliable questionnaire to collect data.
Limitations of the Study:
One limitation of the study is the use of self-report measures, which may be subject to response bias. Another limitation is the small sample size, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Recommendations:
This study provides insight on the potential benefits of an educational program on improving the oral care practices of ICU nurses. Future research should consider replicating the study on a larger scale with a diverse sample to increase generalizability. Additionally, future studies should consider using objective measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program. The findings of this study provide evidence that can be applied in nursing practice to improve oral care practices in the ICU setting.
Reference:
Zolfaghari, M., Nouri, Z., Saeedi, M., & Parsa Yekta, Z. (2019). The effect of an educational program on nurses’ oral care practices in intensive care units: A randomized clinical trial. Nursing in Critical Care, 24(1), 7-12. doi: 10.1111/nicc.12374
