Paper
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Looking for the Best Evidence: What If It Isn't There?
Joanne K. Singleton, PhD, RN, CS, FNP, FNAP, Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, New York, NY, USA and Rona Faye Levin, PhD, RN, Center for Nursing Research, Clinical Practice and International Affairs, Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY, USA.
| Learning Objective #1: Describe the process of defining and refocusing a clinical question based on available evidence |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify at least three important considerations, besides searching the literature, in answering a clinical question |
Asking the Clinical Question This presentation provides an inside look at how a team of researchers came together with a keen interest in developing an evidence-based approach to find answers to a common clinical problem, how to prevent cardiovascular disease in women between the ages of 40 to 65 years of age. Finding or Creating the Evidence. We took a few turns to get to the point of clearly defining a focused clinical question -- from focusing an initial clinical question, looking for evidence, and putting together a research team to changing strategy in order to create evidence that was not available by conducting a clinical trial. Along the way we learned a number of valuable lessons. Lessons Learned. The principal investigator should determine how to assess needed expertise for the project; when and how much to orient and/or teach graduate assistants about data retrieval; and, find a place to call your own (space for the team to do its work). Also, important is determining the resources needed to support a clinical trail, whether or not they are available, how much they will cost, and assesing feasibility of conducting the study within a reasonable budget and time frame. An important step in addressing these issues is to first carry out a pilot study.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 21, 2004