Reflection on Learning Wk7

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WEEK 7

Practice Questions 1

Identification of the Picot elements

Population: Children between of ages 5-19 years with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 and above

Intervention: motivational interviewing throughout the regular schedules well-children visitation

Compared: practice as usual

Outcome: the positive or reduction in the BMI, Blood pressure (BP), quality of life, and daily physical activity

Time: 8-10 weeks

Keywords used in the search process to respond to the practice question

The keywords include motivational interviewing, regular well-child visits, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, quality of life, blood pressure. Reflection on Learning Wk7

Location of the research study

The selected article is by Borrello (2015) that is focused on motivational interviewing in childhood obesity treatment. According to the authors, obesity is amongst the present most diffused and serious public health issues in the entire world. The authors of this study aimed at appraising the research works that were aimed at finding out the impacts of motivational interviewing methods in the treatment of overweight and obese children. Therefore, the research evidence-based intervention being addressed in the study is motivational interviewing and its important in the treatment process of overweight and obesity among children of ages between 2 to 11 years (Borrello et al., 2015).

The search of the studies appraised was done through electronic databases PubMed and PsychINFO and the selection of the articles was based on the ones that met the inclusion criteria. The studies selected for appraisal were those which focused on the use of some elements of motivational interviewing (MI). The objectives of the targeted studies were to focus on causing a change to the BMI in overweight or children diagnosed with obesity from ages 2 to 11 years. Based on the search criteria, a total of six articles were selected and included for the review. Based on the outcome of the appraisal process, the motivational interviewing had a statistically positive impact on the body mass index and secondary obesity-associated behavioral outcomes. The authors concluded that motivational interviewing can be applied for treating overweight and obesity in children. Nevertheless, the efficacy of motivational interviewing cannot be confirmed as a result of absence of studies that particularly focused on the sample used in the studies (Borrello et al., 2015).

The quantifiable outcomes in this study are related to the improvement in the BMI; changes in the BMI and obesity-related behaviors; changes in the dietary behaviors and physical activities as reported by the parents; changes in the waist circumferences; changes in the waist by height ratio; changes in the weight-associated behaviors; and changes in the weight anthropometric measures, for example, the TSF, Abd, HC, DBP, SBP, percentage of fats, WC, body weight, and the body height (Borrello et al., 2015). Reflection on Learning Wk7

The outcomes of the interventions will be assessed or measured by looking at the positive changes in the above quantifiable outcomes. The success of the intervention involving the use of motivational interviewing will be measured on whether it has helped in the reduction of the body mass index among children who were enrolled for the obesity treatments; whether it has helped in reducing the anthropometric measures among the selected participants in the intervention groups; whether must show the results of weight loss; improvement in response to the motivational interventions; and whether there is an increase in the physical activity in the motivational interviewing group due to the increase in the role of the parents. Other assessment strategies involve looking at whether there is a reduction in the calories intake and consumptions from physical exercise; reduction in the time is spent watching television; whether there is a reduction in the intake of sweet snacks and drinks; and reporting of the increase in the satisfaction levels by the parents concerning the importance of the motivational interviewing intervention (Borrello et al., 2015). Reflection on Learning Wk7

The potential or valid measurement or tools for the measurement of the quantifiable data include the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) scale. It is also considered as a cheap tool that helps in addressing the need to monitor motivational interviewing skills. It is also a cost-effective tool that allows for the effective assessment of the motivational interviewing expertise, the pre-post training motivational interviewing capability development, and the honesty of the motivational interviewing trial clinic interventions (Borrello et al., 2015).

The positive outcomes of the motivational interviewing can be achieved within 8-10 weeks. With the commitment from the healthcare providers and an increase in the number of the targeted individuals, it would be possible to ensure that children of ages between 5 to 19 years will record a body mass index of 30 as compared to the lack of motivation. The intervention helps in ensuring that there is an effective process in the improving the quality of life for the targeted individuals, improvement in physical activities, improvement in the body mass index of less than 30, and the attainment of healthy blood pressure. This will be helpful in the reduction of the risk factors for health such as a reduction in the number of times being spent on watching television, increase in physical activities, reduction in the intake of sweet snacks and drinks, and reduction in the anthropometric measures (Borrello et al., 2015).

Practice Question 2

The Picot elements

Population: adult with the intensive care units or under critical care

Intervention: Research-based skincare integrity bundle

Compared: standard care

Outcome: incidence of healthcare-acquired pressure injuries

Time: 8-10 weeks time period

Keywords used in the search terms

The keywords in the research question include the skincare integrity bundle, standard care, and hospital-associated pressure injuries.

Based on the use of the search terms, the selected study that address the practice issue presented is by Cruz (2020). The author aimed at preventing the impacts of the pressure injury preventive bundle implementation following two months for the reduction of the rates of the pressure injuries among adult in intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients in the tertiary healthcare facility in South Texas. The authors aimed at addressing the practice issue. According to this article, adult patients in the ICU are highly exposed to pressure injuries due to the acuity diagnosis of these patients. These patients require an extended type healthcare, procedures, and the utilization of several medication equipment (Cruz, 2020). Reflection on Learning Wk7

The research evidence-based intervention in the study is that the implementation of the bundle is significantly helping in the reduction of the pressure injury rates among adult patients in the ICU. According to this study, the pressure injury preventive bundle helps to monitor, audit, and provide a continuous bedside support as well as constructive feedback to the staff (Cruz, 2020).

Concerning the quantifiable outcome (s), the author aimed at achieving 10 percent or more in the reduction of the baseline reported cases of the patient with severe situations of the problems. The measure of the outcome is also based on the attainment of 90 percent or more of the staff adherence to all the components of the bundle. This will signify the effectiveness of the intervention and improvement in the management of the prevention of pressure injuries (Cruz, 2020).

The measure of the outcome is also performed by looking at the changes witnessed in the project. In the project, it is expected that after the implementation of the intervention, it is expected that there would be an improvement in the process of implementing the individual the preventive strategies as a team and consistent implementation of the bundle to help in the prevention of pressure injuries among the targeted patients. It is also expected that there will be the employment of the ICU bundle champion to healthcare team of professionals ito monitor, audit, and provide support and constructive criticism to the staff through the use of the compliance checklist (Cruz, 2020).

The potential and valid measurement tool that can be utilized in the measurement of the quantifiable data is the compliance checklist tool that is used to audit, monitor, and offer continuous constructive feedback to the ICU staff. The tool provided information on the compliance by the staff concerning the process of documenting the Braden scores, adherence to the act of turning patients every two hours, secure nutritional consultation, adherence to the twice-daily process of documentation process through the use of the protective equipment used in the sacral region, bilateral heels, and the body sections where there is a medical device (Cruz, 2020).

On the issue of whether the practice question is answerable within 8 to 10 weeks, there is a need to commit to the implementation of the intervention. The successful process of implementing the practice question within this duration is possible with commitments from the healthcare providers. The management of the facility must be able to set and ensure that there is attainment of the objectives that are set within the mission of the project. The tasks, assigned healthcare providers, and the allocated time frame must be properly adhered to. Reflection on Learning Wk7

References

Borrello, M., Pietrabissa, G., Ceccarini, M., & Manzoni, G. M. (2015). Motivational Interviewing in Childhood Obesity Treatment. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(8). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01732

Cruz, C. (2020). Reducing the Incidence of Pressure Injuries in Adult ICU Patients at McAllen Medical Center with the Implementation of a Pressure Injury Preventive Bundle: A Quality Improvement Project.

WEEK 2

Analyze the evidence summary of the selected quantitative research study to address the following.

Does the research design answer the research question? Explain your rationale

The research design of the study tends to answer the research question as it offers the reader with an adequate understanding of Diabetes mellitus as well as the various health impacts it has on human health. The research article focuses on providing an understanding on diabetes mellitus tends to affect human eye sight as well as the approach that may be implemented to ensure this chronic health issue is implemented. For victims of diabetes, their body are not able to create their own insulin as well as they are not able to utilize the produced insulin hence the cells not being able to function properly (Tekin et al., 2018). The in ability of the cells to take the glucose in may have significant damage on the small blood vessels within the Kidney, eyes, heart or the nervous system. Thus, this makes diabetes especially in cases where it is left untreated to be a significant contributor of heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, as well as nerve damage to the nerves in the feet.

Were the study sample participants representative? Why or why not?

The sample size utilized in the study was appropriate for the study as it allowed the researchers to be in a position to attain adequate information associated with diabetes mellitus. Despite the participants population being attain from a single region it was essential as it promoted an adequate understanding of diabetes mellitus and the various ways it may be controlled to promote the quality of life (Tekin et al., 2018).

Compare and contrast the study limitations in this study.

Ethical restriction limited the researcher from obtaining blood samples from the participants in the control groups.  Fundamentally, the utilization of blood samples to conduct an investigation tends to be ethically inappropriate (Tekin et al., 2018). However, if the researchers would utilize the blood sample information attained by the health care facility they would be in a position to attain more competitive information to support their research. Reflection on Learning Wk7

Based on this evidence summary, would you consider this quantitative research study as support for your selected practice problem? Explain your rationale.

Based on the information obtained from this quantitative research article, it tends to support the selected practice problem (Diabetes Mellitus) as it provides me with more understanding of the various negative health impact diabetes mellitus cause to its victims. Additionally, it tends to point out the need for more research in order to appropriately control and contain the chronic health issue (Tekin et al., 2018).

References

Tekin, K., Inanc, M., Kurnaz, E., Bayramoglu, E., Aydemir, E., Koc, M., Kiziltoprak, H., & Aycan, Z. (2018). Quantitative evaluation of early retinal changes in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus without retinopathy. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 101(5), 680-685. https://doi.org/10.1111/cxo.12667

WEEK 6

Does the author clearly identify the scope of the evidence synthesis? Explain your rationale.

Evidence in an essay needs to reflect important aspects that show that the work is credible and supported by personal explanations and ideas (Lewin, 2018). Suppose the work is not written to suggest that it explains essential work (Sutherland, 2018). In that case, it can be seen as article summaries that have not incorporated any explanation and can give the reader a negative impression of the work. In the discussion, the given case study will be appraised in terms of the presentation of evidence.

The scope of synthesis in the given case reading has been achieved to a greater extent because the reader can see the main aspects have been identified well. If assuming that the writer was using the SPICE tool to determine the synthesis for the scope of work, it can be clear to say that the setting is in hospitals, the perspectives are on patients falling due to various reasons given such as urgency, medications, and unfamiliar environment, interventions such as an increase in staff turnover, comparisons, and evaluation of the likelihood of it happening. Reflection on Learning Wk7

Are strong paraphrased sentences included that are supported by contemporary sources of research evidence? Explain your rationale

An assertive sentence presents ideas on totality and helps the reader get to the main point. For instance, the opener is a strong sentence because it has the main ideas presented in the discussion, the fall part, and the prevention part. When looking at all the work in general, the sentences in the paragraphs are vital because they present an idea on their own and even have a backing of evidence in them from which most are retrieved from different scholars. The work is also retrieved from contemporary sources in that it is from the last five years in 2017. The research would have been different if it had gone beyond the threshold of time part 5 years. Reflection on Learning Wk7

Are the facts related to the practice problem presented in an objective manner? Explain your rationale.

The presentation of objectives in the case analysis and presentation of facts in the essay is effective. For instance, there is a good flow of information from the topic sentence to the last part. It is a subdivision of facts to the last part, which gives the recommendations. Facts presented include statistics, relations, and cause. In one paragraph, it explained all crucial aspects of patients’ falls in acute care and the recommendations to reduce the rate of falls by increasing care quality. The citations also help present facts on the discussion essay.

Does the author use sources to support ideas and claims, and not the other way around? Explain your rationale.

The author uses two references and three citations to back up the work in a more reasonable discussion. At first, I thought the writer had a lot of citations in presenting the information. However, upon close examination, I realized it was essential to use all three citations to back up the work and present the explanations in the most efficient way possible. If the work did not have sources, it would be hard o tell how credible the information is or if any research was done to give factual data.

Based on your appraisal, is this exemplar a true synthesis of the evidence? Or is it a summary of the evidence? Explain your rationale.

In the discussion given, the author has tried to synthesize the information, but the more significant part looks like a summary of evidence. The information presented is on critical factors that give detailed information and is still lacking information to qualify to be a perfect synthesis of evidence. More information would be needed in all the aspects to make it stop looking like an abstracting summary but a proper synthesis of evidence. Reflection on Learning Wk7

References

Lewin, S., Booth, A., Glenton, C., Munthe-Kaas, H., Rashidian, A., Wainwright, M., … & Noyes, J. (2018). Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings: introduction to the series.

Sutherland, W. J., & Wordley, C. F. (2018). A fresh approach to evidence synthesis.

WEEK 1

Part 1: article appraisal using the Johns Hopkins Research Evidence Appraisal Tool

Most health care industries continue to express their concerns about the rising cases of diabetes, specifically from the population with disabilities. A study conducted by Gillani et al. (2017) about “A qualitative study to explore the perception and behavior of patients towards diabetes management with a physical disability” explores factors that limit physically challenged diabetic patients from complying with medication instructions, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, as well as self-monitoring practices. The purpose of this paper is to use the Johns Hopkins Research Appraisal Tool to critique the article.

Part 2: evidence summary

Does the research design answer the research question? Explain your rationale.

This article employed a qualitative research design, which was used to explore the understanding of the participants’ behavior on the way and why individuals always end up responding to the different practices of disease management. Therefore, this method also provides an all-inclusive solution to different questions from various patient-oriented barriers to other problems and concerns that are drug-related (Gillani et al., 2017). Therefore, the employed qualitative interview follows a flexible nature of exploration, which is of much importance and essence to the study team tasked with investigating the perception, knowledge, and barriers to respond.

Between 2016 and 2017, the authors conducted this research in a particular diabetic facility called Penang in Malaysia using diverse settings. It means, when interviewing the participants, researchers considered the language barrier from the three selected ethnic groups (Chinese, Indians, and Malay). All the participants had attained the legal age of 18 years and above. To make the research eligible, researchers selected members with a physical disability such as leg amputee and suffering from diabetes type II Mellitus.

(Gillani et al., 2017). The recruitment’s performance in the suggestion with the physicians who attend the patients at a diabetic clinic is the 6-months of systematic random sampling. The patients with pregnancy, cancer, cognitive impairment, the inflammatory disorder were excluded. When it came to answering the interview questions, the participants never faced any challenges during the session since the used questions were not had, and little/or no medical jargon was used during the interview.

Additionally, when assessing participant’s habit of self-checking their blood sugar level, findings of this article confirmed that upon asking the participants of their opinion on the preferred method of carrying out records of blood glucose tests, various participants from widowed and divorced as well as those from low socioeconomic statuses went on to deny adapting to telemonitoring and hence preferred manual recording (Gillani et al., 2017). On the other hand, participants from both moderate and high economic status and those married or single indicated positive perception and willingness to adapt to technology-based monitoring. Reflection on Learning Wk7

Were the study sample participants representative? Why or why not?

Since the sample is random, it is representative of the population of interest. The authors clearly distinguish the study sample that type II diabetes adolescents above 18 were to participate in the research. Also, all members were enlisted in the training and research health care firms in Malaysia. However, I think this sample size did not achieve saturation because it seemed insufficient, which I think researchers would attain if they collected participants from other health care facilities in the country.

The study sample represented the needs of the sampled population because diabetic issues raised were used in addressing the management practices that can be used in detecting the behaviors and perceptions of diabetic patients with a physical disability and the better approaches for better health.

Compare and contrast the study limitations in this study.

There were some several limitations associated with this qualitative study:

1. When researchers were responding to participant’s responses, the anthropometric correlation was not performed.

2. Researchers acknowledged that the research was limited to participants with help-seeking behavior, while participants declined the appointment they had with their practitioners.

3. Researchers could not analyze findings to capture the whole population’s representative since there was not enough money to fund the project.

Based on this evidence summary, would you consider this qualitative research study as support for your selected practice problem? Explain your rationale.

With the evidence supported by different researchers in this article, I would consider it in educating my physically disabled population with diabetes by pinpointing several factors that affect glycemic control and patient adherence to the different treatment plans. It is important for diabetic patients to always follow several care models in order to achieve the target glycemic control, such as complying with medication prescribed, improved medication knowledge of diabetes, dietary modifications, and self-monitoring blood glucose (Gillani et al., 2017).

Geriatrics is one of the critical determinants in implicating the overall accomplishment just as morbidity of the public health efforts compress the morbidity time frame among various individuals. Gillani et al. (2017) say diabetic cases are higher in people with physical disabilities than those without any underlying condition. Diabetic patients are exposed to so many risk factors that would further complicate their health. These factors include but are not limited to depression, neuropathy, cardiovascular diseases, peripheral arterial disease, exercises, and being overweight. Cognitive impairments and physical disability are some of the significant barriers in the achievement of optimal glycemic control, together with medication adherence. Reflection on Learning Wk7

Another thing that will make me use this qualitative research study is how the authors took time to consider some ethical concerns while recruiting participants in this research study. The critical ethical contemplations that were followed in this examination included guaranteeing that the study members’ data were kept private. Since the personal information would never be revealed, just the figures of such investigations were given with no name, postal districts, or even their ages. Consequently, only a range of the members was utilized soon after they were conceded into such medical facilities or even released, with no further details being offered for the people. Researchers asked the clinical research committee (CRS) to review and approve the research ethics before commencing.

References

Gillani, S. W., Sulaiman, S. A. S., Abdul, M. I. M., & Saad, S. Y. (2017). A qualitative study to explore the perception and behavior of patients towards diabetes management with physical disability. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, 9(1), 58. Retrieved from:

WEEK 5

In your appraisal of the evidence, you note that an independent variable is not present and that a Spearman’s ranked correlation is used to analyze data. Is this the correct level of correlational analysis? Reflection on Learning Wk7

When you opt to use spearman correlation in analysing a particular analysis, one part will be about checking to ensure “that the data that you want to analyse can actually be analysed by using the Spearman correlation”. This is so because it will only be corrected for you to use spearman correlation if the variables concerned pass “three assumptions that are required for the Spearman correlation so that you get a valid result. Practically, checking for these three assumptions will add a little bit more time to the analysis that you are doing” (Astivia & Zumbo, 2017). This expects you to check or rather click a few buttons in the SPSS statistics when you carrying out your analysis together with taking a little bit more time to think about but really not a hard task.

The three assumptions are as follows:

Assumptions number one is that the two variables need to be measured on a ratio scale, interval or ordinal scale. The instances of the ordinal scales should include the Likert scales like the 7-point scale such as “strongly agree through to strongly disagree), amongst other ways of ranking categories (e.g., a 3-point scale explaining how much a customer liked a product, ranging from Not very much, to It is OK, to Yes, a lot)”. The instances of the ratio or interval variables include the revision time, mostly measured in hours, the intelligence quotient, which is usually measured through the IQ scores, the performance of exam which is usually measured on a scale of 0 to 100 or even weight which is measured through kilograms.

The two variables need to be a paired observation. “For example, you could be interested in the relationship between the amount of exercise and the daily cigarette consumption done every week” (Astivia & Zumbo, 2017). An observation that is shared will reflect the score on every variable for one participant, like “the daily cigarette consumption of Participant 1 and the amount of exercise performed each week by Participant 1). If there are about 30 participants in the study, this simply means that there will be 30 paired observations”.

Assumption number three is that there is a “monotonic relationship between the two variables. This relationship exists only and only if the variables increase in value together or even as one variable value goes up, the other variable value goes down. While there are various approaches to check whether a monotonic relationship exists between your two factors, we propose making a scatterplot utilizing SPSS Statistics, where you can plot one variable against the other, and afterward outwardly assess the scatterplot to check for monotonicity”.

From the above assumptions, then it means for Spearman correlation to exist, then the variables must be dependent.

Are association and correlation analysis equivalent in determining relationships between variables?

Correlation usually explores the association between two or more variables and then make inference about the relationship strength. The two terms, association, and correlation can be used interchangeably. The association, technically, the association would refer to the relationship between two variables whereas the correlation is mostly used to any relationship between the two variables (Gogtay & Thatte,2017).

Do these findings impact your decision about whether to use this evidence to inform practice change?

For the two terms, a scatter plot can be used which then shows the association between two variables. They can also use covariance, which is used in measuring how much variables would change together. It can be used for a matrix that measures the covariance between several pairs of variables. So really, the two terms can be used interchangeably for the same purpose. Reflection on Learning Wk7

References

Astivia, O. L. O., & Zumbo, B. D. (2017). Population models and simulation methods: The case of the Spearman rank correlation. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 70(3), 347-367. Retrieved from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bmsp.12085 (Links to an external site.)

Gogtay, N. J., & Thatte, U. M. (2017). Principles of correlation analysis. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 65(3), 78-81. Retrieved from https://www.kem.edu/wp-

WEEK 3

Analyze the evidence summary of the selected systematic review to address the following.

Does the research design answer the research question?

The researcher of the selected article focused on the effects of the community-based program on type 2 diabetes mellitus prevention among the individuals in the low- and middle-income nations. To get answers to this question, the researcher adopted a systematic review and meta-analysis approach. There was an inclusion of the randomized controlled trials (RCT) with the program focused on the lifestyle changes for example the weight loss and the physical exercise without the inclusion of the pharmacological treatments. This was followed by at least 6 months follow-up that was performed in the low- and middle-income nations (Shrinzadeh, et al., 2019).

Based on the above method, the researchers arrived at the answers concerning the role of the community-based program on type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study shows that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus among the intervention groups was reduced. There were also greater variations in the weight, body mass index, and the waist circumference change amongst the individuals in the community-based program from the baseline. Individuals in the intervention group also showed a greater reduction in fasting blood sugar and HbA1C measurements (Shrinzadeh, et al., 2019). Reflection on Learning Wk7

Were the study sample participants representative?

The sample is few and this is based on the smaller number of trials used, age, and the condition of the participants as well as the method used in delivering the intervention. This, therefore, means that the review failed to provide adequate through the use of the sample to represent the effects of the community-based intervention in the prevention of the type 2 diabetes mellitus in lower- and middle-income nations. The recruited participants were of ages ranging from 30 to 76 years, this, therefore, implies that the study outcome might not apply to the younger adults even though type 2 diabetes mellitus is not common among this age group (Shrinzadeh, et al., 2019).

Compare and contrast the study limitations in this study.

The researchers performed their review based on the recommendations proposed in the Cochrane Handbook that guides on the systematic review of the interventions using a comprehensive literature search across the databases and two trial registries for the identification of the published as well as the unpublished trials. Nevertheless, the researchers failed to conduct a broader search of a gray literature. The researchers also limited the search results to English language literature. The researcher also had a plan of utilizing the funnel plots for the assessment of the possible publication bias in case at least 10 trials were included. However, the researcher with the presence of the limited number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) i.e. six studies, it becomes difficult to ensure that there is a generation of a funnel plot to guide in the process of assessing the publication bias. Some of the trials that were included were smaller and they mostly described one-year follow-up while others failed to report on the outcomes of interest. The researchers also included a limited number of trials that were used to report on each outcome. This made it hard to perform the analysis of the subgroups (Shrinzadeh, et al., 2019). Reflection on Learning Wk7

Based on this evidence summary, would you consider this systematic review as support for your selected practice problem?

  The increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is having substantial effects on lower- and middle-income nations. One of the effective approaches that have been recommended to help in addressing the issue is the implementation of the community-based programs that are strictly addressing the behavioral interventions. Community-based program is addressing the issues of diet, physical activity, and healthy behaviors. These are some of the factors that have been considered to be influencing the rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the community, especially in the high-income nations. Nevertheless, such practices have not yet been fully implemented in the lower- and middle-income nations thus putting the population at high risk of type 2 diabetes (Shrinzadeh, et al., 2019).

Based on the pieces of evidence provided in this systematic review, it can be concluded that the community-based intervention is having great impacts on the lower- and middle-income countries in terms of the risk reduction of the certain modifiable risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The adoption of this program might be helpful in the reduction of the reported cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus and positive effect on the anthropometric indices and the glycemic control among individuals who are considered to be at high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (Shrinzadeh, et al., 2019). Reflection on Learning Wk7

References

Shrinzadeh Maryam, Afshin-Pour, B., Angeles, R., Gaber, J., & Agarwal, G. (2019). The effect of community-based programs on diabetes prevention in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Globalization and health, 15(1), 1-13. doi:org/10.1186/s12992-019-0451-4

WEEK 4

What statistical procedure is needed to determine an effective sample size to make a reasonable conclusion? Explain your rationale. Reflection on Learning Wk7

An appropriate sample size in a given study is considered to be one that will be involved in finding a statistically significant impact for a scientifically essential event. An appropriate sample size is one that ensures that a vital type of research question gets answered in the most appropriate way (Kraemer & Blasey, 2016). For an individual to attain this, their samples ought to be the appropriate size which should neither be too big nor too small. This is considered to be more of an art than being a science.

Sample size form of determination is defined as being the act associated with the selection of the various amounts of observations or even replicates to entail in a form of a statistical sample. The sample size is regarded as being a vital feature associated with any kind of empirical study whereby the key goal is usually to come up with inferences about a given population on the basis of the cost along with time, or the convenience associated with the collection of the data along with the need for it to provide enough statistical power (Kraemer & Blasey, 2016). In a complicated type of study, there may be a variety of distinct sample sizes for instance a stratified type of surely there would be distinct sizes for each type of stratum.

Determination of the sample size in a given quantitative type of research study is considered to be an issue. There are some elements that an individual need to put into consideration and there is no type of an easy answer. Each kind of experiment is considered to be distinct with a variety of varying degrees of certainty along with expectations. Essentially, there are three elements or even variables that one must have knowledge about in a given study each with a kind of numerical value. They are considered to be significance level associated with power and even effect size. When these identified values are identified, they are utilized with a form of table that is often found in the designs used in the determination of sample size.

To effectively determine the sample size, the first step is considered to be the selection of an effective significance level which is identified as the alpha level. An alpha level associated value of p is .05 which is commonly utilized. This means that the identified probability that the identified outcomes found are because of the chance alone is .05 or 5% and 95% of the time are considered to be a difference that is usually found between the identified control group along with the experimental group which will be statistically significant and because of the manipulation as well as the treatment (Kraemer & Blasey, 2016). Reflection on Learning Wk7

The next step is considered to be the selection of the power level. Essentially a power level associated with .8 or even 80% is usually selected. This is used to mean that the 80% of the time that the identified experiment will be considered to detect a distinction that is identified between the control along with the experimental groups if there is the existence of a difference. Finally, there is the organization of the existing data in regard to the various values for the three elements available. Thereafter all the three values that have been found should be entered into an online calculator so as to attain the most appropriate sample size (Kraemer & Blasey, 2016).

Reading through the study, you observe that the researcher used a chi-square analysis to analyze nominal and ordinal data. Is this the appropriate level of statistical analysis to answer the research question? Explain your rationale.

I disagree with the use of a chi-square type of analysis in the study for the analysis of the nominal along with the ordinal data in the study. For the two types of data, there can only be distinct kinds of analysis methods that will be used because the two types of data are different and need the use of different forms of analysis techniques. For the nominal type of data, it can be analyzed via the use of the grouping method. In this case, the various types of variables can be grouped together into some form of categories and for each of the given category, the identified frequency or even percentage can be effectively calculated.

The data can also be presented in a visual manner like in the use of a pie chart. For the ordinal type of data all the practical types, one can utilize regular parametric form of statistics which are the mean along with the model and the median. The ANOVA method can be considered to be the most effective especially for three groups or more but for two groups the Mann-Whitney U test will be the best (Berry & Mielke, 2018).

Reading further, the researcher reports that the p-level led her to conclude that the null hypothesis was rejected. In your critique of the study, you determine that the null hypothesis is true. Do these findings impact your decision about whether to use this evidence to inform practice change? Why or why not?

It is important to note that these findings have an impact on decisions on whether to utilize the data or not. If the null hypothesis is true then it means that whatever data that was given in the study did not happen. This means that it is hard to come up with a conclusion because there is nothing to conclude because for a case of null hypothesis it usually assumes that something is equal to zero (Patton, 2014). Reflection on Learning Wk7

References

Berry, K. J., Johnston, J. E., & Mielke, P. W. (2018). The measurement of association: A permutation statistical approach. Retrieved from https://www.worldcat.org/title/measurement-of-association-a-permutation-statistical-approach/oclc/1065538401

Kraemer, H. C., & Blasey, C. (2016). How many subjects?: Statistical power analysis in research. Retrieved from https://www.worldcat.org/title/how-many-subjects-statistical-power-analysis-in-research/oclc/1059096980 (Links to an external site.)

Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. SAGE Publications US. Retrieved from https://www.worldcat.org/title/qualitative-research-evaluation-methods/oclc/1205201059