Post a brief description of your clinical issue of interest. This clinical issue will remain the same for the entire course and will be the basis for the development of your PICOT question.
Describe our search results in terms of the number of articles returned on original research and how this changed as you added search terms using your Boolean operators.
Finally, explain strategies you might make to increase the rigor and effectiveness of a database search on your PICO(T) question. Be specific and provide examples.
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Week 4 Discussion Example one
Searching Databases
The clinical issue of interest is the non-pharmacological measures that can improve cognitive functioning mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is characterized by progressive deterioration of cognitive function resulting in cognitive deficits such as declined short-term memory, language dysfunction, poor judgment, impaired reasoning, difficulty managing complex tasks, and visuospatial dysfunction (Berg-Weger & Stewart, 2017). The cognitive function declines gradually. Huntley et al. (2017) assert that there is a need to identify ways to improve cognitive function in the early stages of the disease before symptoms worsen.
The databases used to search peer-reviewed articles related to the topic of improving cognitive function in AD include APA PsycInfo, BioMedCentral, PubMed, and CINAHL Plus (Walden University, 2021). I started by searching “improving cognitive functioning in Alzheimer’s disease.” The search brought 32 articles, most of which were unrelated to the specific interest issue. In the subsequent search, I used specific terms as per the PICOT question to enter the Boolean operator. The key search terms used to refine the search include ‘non-pharmacologic interventions,’ ‘improve cognitive function,’ and ‘Alzheimer’s disease.’ In addition, I limited the search to peer-reviewed articles published in English and from January 2021 to date to ensure accuracy. Using the key terms, refined the search and returned 9 articles relevant to the identified clinical issue.
Strategies that might improve the rigor and effectiveness of a database search on the PICOT question include brainstorming terms that authors might use to define the topic. One can use synonyms or similar words to combine in the Boolean operator OR (Ho et al., 2017). For instance, the authors could have used non-drug therapy or psychotherapeutic measures to define non-pharmacological interventions. Another strategy is to develop a list of terminologies and applicable terms to use in the search (Ho et al., 2017). The list of terminologies in my case includes: non-pharmacological interventions, improving cognitive function, increasing memory capacity, Alzheimer’s patients, and early-stage Alzheimer’s.
References
Berg-Weger, M., & Stewart, D. B. (2017). Non-Pharmacologic Interventions for Persons with Dementia. Missouri medicine, 114(2), 116–119.
Ho, G. J., Liew, S. M., Ng, C. J., Hisham Shunmugam, R., & Glasziou, P. (2017). Development of a search strategy for an evidence based retrieval service. PloS one, 11(12), e0167170.
Huntley, J. D., Hampshire, A., Bor, D., Owen, A., & Howard, R. J. (2017). Adaptive working memory strategy training in early Alzheimer’s disease: randomized controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 210(1), 61-66. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.116.182048
Walden University. (2021). Databases A-Z. Welcome – Walden University Departments & Centers – Academic Guides at Walden University. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/az.php
Week 4 Discussion Example Two
Searching Databases
Clinical issues deserve maximum attention since they affect health care quality and patient safety. My clinical issue of interest is workplace incivility among nurses. In a healthcare context, workplace incivility involves discourteous and disrespectful actions towards health professionals (Abdollahzadeh et al., 2017). Such actions can occur without any intention to harm, but the effects are far-reaching. Nursing research has found workplace incivility detrimental to the quality of patient care and nurses’ health (Ma et al., 2018). It affects nurses’ confidence, interprofessional collaboration and mental health. Anxiety is also high in healthcare environments characterized by incivility leading to job burnout and low resilience (Shi et al., 2018). The impacts are severe and profound, necessitating evidence-based interventions.
Scientific research on workplace incivility among nurses is extensive and explores numerous practice areas. The initial search on the solutions to workplace incivility produced over seventy articles. A significant number could not match the threshold of scientific articles for nursing since they should be scholarly and up-to-date (Abu-Baker et al., 2021). Some were not specific on the issue. Adding the search terms using Boolean operators brought fewer articles but relevant to the topic. Articles on policy interventions and incivility awareness will be used to develop the PICOT and explore the clinical issue in more detail.
Database search is challenging depending on the topic of interest and the database chosen. To increase the rigor and effectiveness of a database search on my PICOT question, word choice must be excellent and specific to the topic. For instance, nurse incivility should be used in the search process instead of workplace incivility. The proposed evidence-based intervention (policy interventions and increased awareness on workplace incivility) should also be included in the search phrase. It is also vital to search the articles for developing the PICOT from multiple databases. To get articles specific to the clinical issue and relevant overall, I should filter the search using years of publication and the peer-reviewed option that several databases provide.
References
Abdollahzadeh, F., Asghari, E., Ebrahimi, H., Rahmani, A., &Vahidi, M. (2017). How to prevent workplace incivility?: Nurses’ perspective. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 22(2), 157-163. https://doi.org/10.4103/1735-9066.205966
Abu-Baker, N. N., AbuAlrub, S., Obeidat, R. F., &Assmairan, K. (2021). Evidence-based practice beliefs and implementations: A cross-sectional study among undergraduate nursing students. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00522-x
Ma, C., Meng, D., Shi, Y., Xie, F., Wang, J., Dong, X., …& Sun, T. (2018). Impact of workplace incivility in hospitals on the work ability, career expectations and job performance of Chinese nurses: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open, 8(12), e021874. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021874
Shi, Y., Guo, H., Zhang, S., Xie, F., Wang, J., Sun, Z., …& Fan, L. (2018). Impact of workplace incivility against new nurses on job burn-out: A cross-sectional study in China. BMJ Open, 8(4), e020461. https://doi.org/10.1136/ bmjopen-2017-020461