Writing Homework Help

Reply to the following DQ 

Anu:

Identifying gaps in a systematic review is necessary in conducting evidence-based research (Robinson et al., 2013). A gap in research is evident when missing or inadequate information hinders a researcher’s ability to draw a conclusion for the given inquiry.  Research gaps can be critical if it impacts the decision-making ability of key stakeholder such as patients, health care providers, and policymakers, and hence creating a need to fill the knowledge gap (Hempel et al., 2019).

          In my EBP project, I believe there are gaps that may influence other researchers. Most of the research was done outside of the United States and the sampling of population in the research was limited to the particular region of the country where the research was conducted. USAs population is made up of all ethnicity and so I believe there should be more research done using patients of different ethnicity to see if there are any variations to the outcomes of the intervention. The sampling in the initial research conducted took some ethnicity into account but I feel it’s insufficient. This limited sampling may influence other researchers to conduct additional research, using subjects of various ethnicity, to deem the technology effective in preventing pressure ulcers.

Hempel, S., Gore, K., & Belsher, B. (2019). Identifying Research Gaps and Prioritizing Psychological Health Evidence Synthesis Needs. Medical Care, 57, S259–S264. https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000001175

Robinson, K. A., Akinyede, O., Dutta, T., Sawin, V. I., Li, T., Spencer, M. R., Turkelson, C. M., & Weston, C. (2013). Introduction. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK126702/

Delaney:

When conducting research for an identified topic it is important to cover all literature that pertains to your certain topic. Research gaps are the missing pieces that pull the research together and need further exploration. Gaps include population size, research methods, data collections and research variables (Miles, 2017). These gaps can alter and influence research outcomes. 

When conducting my research I have identified many research gaps. Gaps that I have identified are population and research variables. Most literature I have reviewed focuses on chronic non-cancer pain. It is hard to find research that addressed pain in patients that have opioid addiction in relation to pain tolerance and pain receptors. As a nurse bedside it is known that opioid “addicts” respond differently to the pain regimen prescribed and “we” as nurses know to ask the patient if they have a history of drug abuse when trying to sedate prior to procedures. The stigma behind addiction and attitudes of healthcare workers impact our willingness to understand and treat these individuals. 

Understanding the viewpoints of the individuals that conducted the research is important as this may or may not influence their findings and population studied. 

References:

Miles, D. (2017). A taxonomy of research gaps: Identifying and defining the seven research gaps.  Academia.edu.

Devin:

While there are several studies, including RCTs, on the efficacy of mHealth interventions for smoking cessation in general, there are fewer studies on these interventions in those with mental illness. The intervention is relatively new in research, and studies involving those with mental illness are still at the acceptability/feasibility (Klein, et al., 2019) or pilot RCT stage (Vilardaga, et al., 2020). One of the main gaps in all these studies specific to those with mental illness is limited generalizability due to the small sample sizes. According to Faber and Fonesca (2014, para. 1), limited sample sizes influence other researchers in that they “may point the researcher in different directions when it comes to making clinical decisions” compared to studies with larger sample sizes. The authors argue for larger, but not excessive, sample sizes, however, in order to avoid compromising any study conclusions.

References

Faber, J., & Fonseca, L. M. (2014). How sample size influences research outcomes. Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics, 19(4), 27–29. https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-9451.19.4.027-029.ebo

Klein, P., Lawn, S., Tsourtos, G., & van Agteren, J. (2019). Tailoring of a smartphone smoking cessation app (Kick.it) for serious mental illness populations: Qualitative study. JMIR Human Factors, 6(3), e14023. https://doi.org/10.2196/14023

Vilardaga, R., Rizo, J., Palenski, P. E., Mannelli, P., Oliver, J. A., & Mcclernon, F. J. (2020). Pilot randomized controlled trial of a novel smoking cessation app designed for individuals with co-occurring tobacco use disorder and serious mental illness. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 22(9) 1533–1542. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntz202