NURS 6052: Discussion: Reducing Hospital Acquired Infections via Hand Disinfection

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Preparing for the Discussion

1. What is your PICO(T) question related to a clinical issue of interest?

2. What search terms and databases did you use to search for research related to your PICO(T) question?

3. How did the search results change when Boolean operators or additional search terms were used, and what strategies could improve the rigor and effectiveness of the database search?

How to Approach the Questions

Question 1: Developing the PICO(T) Question

Approach it by breaking the clinical issue into the PICO(T) framework:

  • P – Population/Patient Problem: Who is the patient or group?

  • I – Intervention: What treatment, procedure, or practice is being considered?

  • C – Comparison: What is the alternative to the intervention (if any)?

  • O – Outcome: What result do you want to achieve?

  • T – Time: Over what period of time?

Steps:

  1. Identify a clinical issue that interests you.

  2. Break the issue into PICO(T) components.

  3. Combine them into one clear, researchable question.

Question 2: Identifying Search Terms and Databases

Explain how you searched for research evidence.

Steps:

  1. Identify the keywords from each part of your PICO(T) question.

  2. Use those keywords to search in research databases.

  3. List at least two databases used for the search.

Examples of databases:

  • CINAHL Plus with Full Text

  • MEDLINE

  • PubMed

  • Cochrane Library

Question 3: Evaluating Search Results and Improving the Search

Describe how the search results changed when using Boolean operators or additional keywords.

Steps:

  1. Explain the number of articles found during the initial search.

  2. Show how the results changed after adding Boolean operators such as:

    • AND (narrows the search)

    • OR (broadens the search)

    • NOT (excludes terms)

  3. Suggest strategies to improve the search, such as:

    • using more specific keywords

    • applying filters like publication year or peer-reviewed articles

    • searching additional databases

    • using synonyms for keywords.

Sample Solution

Multiple clinical issues are prevalent in psychiatric nursing and affects employee well-being. The clinical issue addressed in this case is employee turnover. In psychiatric nursing, the issue of employee turnover has been noticeable due to multiple factors, including poor working environments. According…..Click below to access the full sample solution (PDF)