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Data Management in Research, Quality Improvement (QI) and Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
Have you ever considered the importance of research in nursing? How might research shape the delivery of healthcare? Research in nursing began with Florence Nightingale in 1850 and has continued to transform in complexity and scope every year since (Gray & Grove, 2020). The field and practice of nursing are greatly influenced by the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) and quality improvement (QI) initiatives, and in this first Discussion, you will analyze research to identify gaps in knowledge and practice.
For this Discussion, you will analyze three different articles: a research study, a published quality improvement article, and a completed evidence-based DNP project to answer the prompts provided.
Reference: Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2020).
Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
· Dang, D., Dearholt, S. L., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Whalen, M. (2021).
Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice for nurses and healthcare professionals: Model & guidelines (4th ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
· Chapter 4, “The Practice Question Phase” (pp. 92–95)
· Salkind, N., & Frey, B. (2019).
Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics (7th ed.). SAGE Publications.
· Chapter 8, “Hypotheticals and You: Testing Your Questions” (pp.168–169)
· Niedz, B. (2024).
Terminology [Video]. Walden University. Walden University Canvas.
BARBARA NIEDZ: Hi, all.
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· Power point
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Document:
Terminology (PowerPoint presentation)
Download Terminology (PowerPoint presentation)
Required Readings for Topic: Falls
Required Readings for Topic: Falls
· Bangura, F. (2024).
Development and evaluation of a nurse practitioner–directed intentional rounding strategy, and its impact on decreasing falls in a veterans long-term care facilityLinks to an external site.
(Publication No. 30991997) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
· Khoja, A., & Moosa, L. (2023).
Impact of tailored interventions for patient safety (TIPS) to reduce fall ratesLinks to an external site..
MEDSURG Nursing, 32(2), 89–93.
· Tzeng, H.-M., & Yin, C.-Y. (2017).
A multihospital survey on effective interventions to prevent hospital falls in adultsLinks to an external site..
Nursing Economics, 35(6), 304–313.
To prepare:
· Read and view the Learning Resources, focusing especially on pages 92–95 of Dang et al. (2021).
· Choose one of the topics (from the “Falls” topic list) in the resources and read the three articles presented.
· View the video on Terminology.
By Day 3 Of Week 1
Post a response including the following:
· Identify the gap in knowledge (in the research article) and the gap in practice (in the QI study) presented in the articles provided. Explain how the practice-focused question emerged in the DNP EBP project. Use Table 4.6 on page 95 in Dang et al. (2021).
· Evaluate the provided research study, the quality improvement study, and the DNP EBP project. Compare and contrast (a) the gap and (b) the research question or practice-focused question.
By Day 6 of week 1
Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts and
respond to
at least two of your colleagues
on two different days by expanding upon their reflections, making connections to your perceptions, and offering additional insights.
RESPOND TO THIS DISCUSSION POST
BA
Bimpe
Data Management in Research, Quality Improvement (QI) and Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
The research article reveals a gap in knowledge by highlighting that despite existing studies, there remains an unanswered question or insufficient evidence about a specific clinical issue. In other words, current research does not fully explain or resolve the phenomenon under investigation.
The quality improvement (QI) study, by contrast, uncovers a gap in practice. Stakeholder input (as emphasized on p. 95) shows that the way care is delivered deviates from the evidence‐based standard. This discrepancy between what is done and what should be done signals a need for practice change. Thus, while the research article points to the need for further inquiry to fill an evidentiary void, the QI study demonstrates that established evidence is not being consistently applied in practice (Walden Canvas, n.d.).
According to Dang et al. (2021, p. 95), a critical early step in the PET process is to “identify stakeholders”—that is, to bring together those who have firsthand experience with the clinical problem and can speak to what is missing or suboptimal in current practice.
In an evaluation of these works, it is evident that both research and quality improvement are similar in some ways, while in others, they contrast. The two differ in gap analysis, where research study and address primarily theoretical and methodological gaps in data management, while QI focuses on practice, In methodology, research study uses experimental or observational methods, while QI applies process improvement models. In the area of question formulation, research seeks to generate new knowledge, while QI examines practical improvements. Their outcome focus differ in that while research study measures data validity and reliability, QI study assesses improvements in data management efficiency, while the DNP EBP project evaluates patient outcomes and staff adherence to best practices. In summary for these complements and contrasts, the basis in differences has QI focusing on performance improvement while research focuses on new discoveries (University of Maryland School of Nursing, n.d.). In these processes, improvement in patient outcomes and staff adherence to best practices are the standard factors to gauge the converging of stakeholders to providing solutions to findings discovered, QI studies the perfecting of what was discovered and EBP in producing good patient outcome.
The DNP EBP Project therefore needs evidence-based data management practices to support QI initiatives. Brunt et al (2023) describes evidence-based practice as a structured problem-solving method that relies on evidence and integrates new knowledge into clinical and administrative settings.
In conclusion, findings have shown that synthesized QI studies and research studies, the DNP EBP project ensure that effective implementation is made used of data strategies and management which provide evident based practice leading to enhanced quality and patient care outcomes.
References
Dang, D., Dearholt, S. L., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Whalen, M. (2021). Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice for nurses and healthcare professionals: Model & guidelines (4th ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
Niedz, B. (2024). Terminology [Video]. Walden University. Walden University Canvas.
(n.d.). University of Maryland School of Nursing.
Barbara A. Brunt 1, Melanie M. Morris(2023) “Nursing Professional Development Evidence-Based Practice’ StatPearls [Internet]
