Critiquing Data Collection, Analysis, and Implications of A Published Quantitative Study
In every scientific research, it is vital that one follows established guidelines in all levels of study to ensure that the data collected as the conclusion drawn to be regarded as standard and unbiased. This study is a review of Paul Quinn’s article titled Chasing Zero: A nurse-driven process for catheter-associated urinary tract infection reduction in a community hospital (2015). Quinn describes a project that sought to improve catheter-associated urinary tract infections in a community hospital.
Data collection method, Analysis and Implications
In the mentioned article, data collection is discussed at length. The author states that the director of nursing quality in White Plains Hospital initiated performance improvement trends in nursing divisions that affected nursing trends by performing gap analyses in the facility. These were the same trends that were adopted in data collection for the above research. The author of this research says that the White Plains Hospital converted to an electronic medical record (EMR), MEDITECH back in 2006 (Quinn, 2015). In this research EMR was utilized for data mining using the ‘Question the Foley’. This initiative provided decision points for nurses to assess whether continued use of a Foley catheter was appropriate. Clinical informaticists created 2 orders for every new Foley catheters inserted: one for every 48hrs and another for every 24hrs. After 48 hours or 24hrs an electronic reminder was generated to the physicians on their desktop, for assessment depending on the order in question. In this research, one can argue that the author utilizes a standard data collection method because he identifies the instruments as well as how and when data was obtained. Quinn (2015) also explains how data was created and validated following the question the Foley initiative. He also explains the equipments used, and also shows that the procedure was carried out in a step-by-step manner. However, I feel that he failed to describe whether there were any written guidelines for the instruments used, which is a standard requirement for a scientific research.
In data analysis, Quinn’s article states that the director of nursing quality utilized a retrospective chart audit and coding data to assess the effectiveness of the inserted Foley catheters. The author of the article says that the Question the Foley criteria were used for data analysis. Quinn (2015) states that all data collected in by the nursing informaticists was tabulated in respects to the aspects of the total patients, total catheter days, the average catheter dwell time in every unit, catheter utilization and missing orders. Foley catheters are identified as the tools that the White Plains hospital used to conduct data analysis. Since the use of this tool is consistent with the research design as well as the study in question, I feel that this part was well carried out. According to Moore & Cowman (2008), a standard qualitative analysis use descriptive statistics in data summary and analysis such as t-tests and chi squares. In this research the Foley catheters seemed like the most appropriate tool for the study in question.
On the implications part, I feel that this study was able to identify the limitations of the study well. For instance, the researchers argued that new nurses would require time to become familiar with the process especially on using the EMR for data mining. This prompted the researchers of the study to recommend for close working relationships between clinicians and technological experts to assist expediting projects to completion. Moore & Cowman (2008) argue that a standard research paper requires that the author presents the implications of the study for a standard research paper. This is because they are the factors that explain why the results obtained may need to be carefully interpreted for future implementation.
References
Quinn, P. (2015). Chasing Zero: A Nurse-Driven Process For Catheter-Assocaated Urinary Tract Infection Reduction in a Community Hospital. Nursing economics Nov-Dec 2015/vol.33/No.6
Moore, Z. E., & Cowman, S. (2008). Risk assessment tools for the prevention of pressure ulcers. The Cochrane Library.
