Description

SAMPLE PAPER

Jacksonville University

NUR-510 Nursing Research

 Week 1 Discussion Board | Graded

Post your response to the following questions in the Week 1 discussion board:

1. What are your ideas and thoughts about nursing research, why nurses conduct research, and if/how it is important?
2. What is the role of research in your nursing practice? Will this change after you complete your MSN? Why do we include research in the MSN curriculum? If you plan to be an NP, administrator, or educator, why do you need to know how to conduct research?
3. What is one research problem that needs to be answered in your nursing specialty area of practice? Provide rationale. The nursing research problem that is chosen will be developed into a research study proposal. Although you can change your research idea, the sooner this is decided, the more focused the student’s work will be in progressing in the program.
4. After reading the APA styleguide (2020) Chapter 1: Scholarly Writing and Publishing Principles, describe two new things you did not know before about the writing resources in this textbook.

You must post your response by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Respond to three other students by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

This assignment is worth 12.5 points.

Sample Solution

Nursing Research and Its Benefits

Nursing research plays a significant role in enhancing the practice of professional nursing by identifying research-based solutions to clinical questions and enhancing client outcomes. Nurses engage in research activities to explain existing disparities between knowledge and context by applying evidence-based practices in nursing interventions for treatment. Conducting research is useful in the process of achieving and testing existing theories, identifying new theories, and improving the services offered in healthcare facilities.

In my nursing practice, research contributes significantly to the clinical decision-making process as well as to the quality of care that I give to my clients. This will continue to be imperative after acquiring my MSN, as my end goal is to translate research to practice to solve various clinical problems and enhance the body of knowledge. As part of the MSN curriculum, there are research courses to ensure that students are able to not only critically analyze and apply research but also to conduct research if the need arises. As for those who aim to become either NP administrators or educators, the knowledge of research is vital for designing new courses of practice, advocating change in existing policies, and enhancing learning programs.

A research problem in my area of specialization, gastroenterology, includes a lack of patient understanding and compliance regarding recommended practices for colon cancer screening. Adherence to screening is low, and patients end up being diagnosed when their diseases are advanced, hence poor prognosis. Further investigation into the best practices and approaches when developing educational initiatives to increase adherence will greatly benefit the patient and diminish the financial burden placed on the health treatment industry.

New Knowledge from APA Style Manual

While going through section 1 of the APA Style Guide (2020), I realized the significance of ethical practices in writing. The guide provides citation information, emphasizing that sources should not be plagiarized while stressing the importance of obtaining permission to use unpublished data. It also guarantees that research writing does not compromise its credibility by infringing the rights of others and reciprocating credit where it is due. Ethical consideration is an essential part of carrying out research and submitting works to academia to maintain the integrity of the process and the research conducted as a whole.

I also learned the specific information on formatting and the general rules regarding the manner and language used. The official guide to APA formatting offers additional tips concerning formal and work-like writing perspectives, which is critical for academic writing. It focuses on proper and formal structures that should be followed when publishing the results of findings, which in turn assists in passing on knowledge in the right manner. This attention to writing style cuts across all types of research as it provides academics and students with an opportunity to communicate their findings professionally and in a format that makes them easily understandable to the audience.

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition

Class Activity #1 Identify Researchable Problem

Discussion Topic
Problem Statements Description

Problem statements express the dilemma or disturbing situation that needs investigation and develop a rationale for a new inquiry. A problem statement identifies the nature of the problem that is being addressed in the study and its context and significance. A problem statement is not merely a statement of the purpose of the study; it is a well structured formulation of what it is that is problematic, what it is that “needs fixing,” or what it is that is poorly understood. Problem statements, especially for quantitative studies, often have most of the following six components:

Problem identification: What is wrong with the current situation?
Background: What is the nature of the problem, the context of the situation that readers need to understand?
Scope of the problem: How big a problem is it; how many people are affected?
Consequences of the problem: what is the cost of not fixing the problem?
Knowledge gaps: What information about the problem is lacking?
Proposed solution: What is the basis for believing that the proposed study would contribute to the solution of the problem?
Reference: Polit, D.F & Beck, C.T. (2008). Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, p. 92

ACTIVITY #1

Establish a focus by identifying one general area that is interesting.
Narrow the focus by imagining at least one general researchable topic within that area.
Find out what is known within a topic area by reviewing abstracts of research articles on the topic.
Commit to discovery of what is not known by identifying a research problem area in which nursing’s body of knowledge is not yet complete
Provide rationale and evidence for why this is a problem. Support with resources/citations/reference.
Write your first draft of a Problem Statement in this DB/ACTIVITY for peers and instructor to review. One or two paragraphs should be all that you need to establish that the problem is an actual one for a certain population.

You must post your response by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Respond to at least ONE other student by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Sample Solution

Problem Identification

Dietary interventions, such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, have been shown to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. However, these interventions are underutilized in the primary care setting and rates of chronic disease continue to increase, along with the associated health and economic impacts of disease.

Background & Scope of the Problem

An unhealthy diet contributes to the leading causes of mortality globally including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (World Health Organization, 2002). At the national level, heart disease and stroke account for 1/3^rd of all deaths, diabetes impacts 136 million Americans, and 42% of adults are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Despite research portraying the impact on an unhealthy diet on chronic disease prevalence, many Americans continue with poor dietary habits and obesity, hypertension, and diabetes rates continue to rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024), obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are the largest contributors to the $4.5 trillion-dollar annual health care cost and are the leading causes of death and disability in our nation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Dietary counseling and healthy diet adherence can impact the prevalence of chronic disease. Despite these facts, few primary care providers feel prepared, motivated, or able to provide nutritional guidance or education to patients (Crowley, et al., 2019). Intervention at the primary care level through DASH diet training and patient education can begin to undo the damage of chronic disease in communities.

Solutions

           I plan to explore ways to implement nutritional training and education into primary care practice with the goal of improving patient adherence and reducing disease risk factors such as BMI, HA1C, total cholesterol, and blood pressure. Developing tools for providers to implement nutrition education into practice despite lack of knowledge or time constraints can improve the implementation of lifestyle strategies for chronic disease improvement and management at the community level.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, July 12). Fast facts: Health and economic costs of chronic conditions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/data-research/facts-stats/index.html

Crowley, J., Ball, L., & Hiddink, G. J. (2019). Nutrition care by primary-care physicians: Advancing our understanding using the COM-B framework. Public Health Nutrition, 23(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980019003148

World Health Organization. (2002, March 4). Diet, nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases: Report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation, Geneva, 28 January – 1 February 2002. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/924120916X