All posts by Martha "Marty" Farrar Highfield PhD RN

It is difficult to be simple! Research can be understood when explained well. That's my aim.
evidence based practice, Meta-analysis, pain assessment, Pain management, research, Research design, Uncategorized

Ouch! Whose Pain Feels Worse?

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levels-of-evidenceIs pain experience as diverse as our populations?  This week I came across an interesting meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis (MA) is one of the strongest types of evidence there is. Some place it at the top; others, 2nd after evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.  (For more on strength of  evidence, click here.)

MA is not merely a review of literature, but is a statistical integration of studies on the same topic.  MA that is based on integration of randomized controlled trials experiment(RCTs) or experimental studies is the strongest type of MA.  MA based on descriptive or non-experimental studies is  a little less strong, because it just describes things as they seem to be; & it cannot show that one thing causes another.

MA example: This brand, new MA included 41  peer-reviewed, English-language, experimental studies with humans:  Kim HJ, Yang GS, Greenspan JD, Downton KD, Griffith KA, Renn CL, Johantgen M, Dorsey SG. Racial and ethnic differences in experimental pain sensitivity: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain. 2016 Sep 24 [Epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000731. PMID: 27682208.    All 41 studies used experimental pain stimuli such as heat, cold, ischemic, electrical and others and compared differences between racial/ethnic groups.

Pain reliefMain findings?  “AAs [African Americans], Asians, and Hispanics had higher pain sensitivity compared to NHWs [non-Hispanic Whites], particularly lower pain tolerance, higher pain ratings, and greater temporal summation of pain.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27682208)  (Temporal summation is the increase in subjective pain ratings as a pain stimulus is repeated again and again.)

Critical thinking:  Given that this is a well-done meta-analysis and that the pain was created by researchers in each study, how should this changequestion your practice?  Or should it?   How can you use the findings with your patients?  Should each patient be treated as a completely unique individual? Or what are the pros & cons of using this MA to give us a starting point with groups of patients?  [To dialogue about this, comment below.]

For more info? Request the full Kim et al. article via interlibrary loan from your med center or school Heart Bookslibrary using reference above.   It is available electronically pre-publication.   Also check out my blog on strength of different types of evidence.

Happy evidence hunting. -Dr.H

Evidence based nursing, evidence based practice, quality improvement, research

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could…” R.Frost

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Below is my adaptation of one of the clearest representations that I have ever seen of when the roads diverge into quality improvement, evidence-based practice, & research.  Well done, Dr. E.Schenk PhD MHI, RN-BC!qi-ebp-research-flow-chart

 

Data, Data collection, Qualitative research, quantitative research, reading research, research methods, Uncategorized

DATA COLLECTION SECTION! (Methods in the Madness)

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Key point! The data collection section of a research article includes: who collects what data when, where & how.

In previous blogs we’ve looked at title, introduction, and other elements of methods section (design, sample, & setting). In this one let’s take a look at data collection.

Data are a collection of measurements. For example, student scores on a classroom test might be 97, 90, 88, 85, & so on. Each single score is a datum; collectively they are data.

What data are collected is answered in this section. The data (or measurements) can be counting-hashmarksnumbers OR words. For example, numbers data might include patient ratings of their pain on a 0-10 scale. An example of word data would asking participants to describe something in words without counting the words or anything else.  For example, word data might include patient descriptions pain in words, like word-art“stabbing,”  “achy,” and so on.  Sometimes a researcher collects both number and word data in the same study to give a more complete description.  You can see how knowing the patient’s pain rating and hearing a description would give you a much clearer picture of pain.

  • Studies reporting data in numbers are called quantitative studies
  • Studies reporting data in words/descriptions are called qualitative studies
  • Studies reporting number & word data are called mixed methods studies

How the data are collected includes what instrument or tool was used to gather data (e.g., observation, biophysical measure, or self-report) and how consistently & accurately that tool measures what it is supposed to measure (e.g., reliability & validity). Also included is who collected the data and the procedures that they followed—how did they obtain consent, interaction with subjects, timing of data collection and so on.

Now you know!

Critical thinking question: Did these authors use qualitative or quantitative data collection methods?  Coelho, A., Parola, V., Escobar-Bravo, M., & Apostolo, J. (2016). Comfort experience in palliative care, BMD Palliative care, 15(71). doi: 10.1186/s12904-016-0145-0.  Explain your answer.

Literature review, Professional Nursing

It was the best of evidence; it was the worst of evidence.

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evidencebased practiceEvidence-based practice = best available evidence + expert clinical judgment + patient & family values/preferences.

When clinicians diagnose & treat based on outdated or inadequate knowledge, then outcomes are at best uncertain.  The internet itself is a poor information source; & colleagues may be no more up-to-date that you.

Good sources are the world-wide Cochrane Collaboration and the specific evidence-based Homepractice journals that are beginning to grow–these take best information from the research report all the way through clinical recommendations.   For research reports per se, PubMed is a comprehensive, U.S. tax-supported Findingsdatabase; & there when you find information that fits using your key search terms, you can also look for related articles & get full-text through interlibrary loan or online.  Another strategy is take the article that fits your clinical issue to your librarian, and ask for help in finding more research on the identical clinical issue.

While no one can read everything in the literature, everyone can read something. You can do a focused review on any particular problem.

Critical thinking:  Is there a clinical issue that you think could use a better solution?  Plug related words into PubMed & see what you can learn.question

For more information see fulltext at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC226388/

Clinical practice guidelines, Disseminating findings, Evidence based nursing, Professional Nursing

!!Here they come to save the day!! Toolbox to move from paper to practice

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toolsOk, so you found some GREAT, new & improved clinical guidelines that exactly fit the problem that you are trying to solve on your unit.   Now What???   How do you get from the guidelines from paper to practice?  & How do you know that the guidelines are any good any way?   Where are the tools for all this?MightyMouse

Like the old cartoon Mighty Mouse, here comes the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario to save the day!  (cue the music)   You can download a FREE toolkit.  Yes, that’s right.  FREE.

It comes complete with examples & step-by-step instructions.  Check it out!   And if I haven’t been persuasive enough, here’s the table of contents!   This is waaay cooool.  Don’t miss it.

For more info here’s the site to download: http://rnao.ca/bpg/resources/toolkit-implementation-best-practice-guidelines-second-edition

RNAO toolkit download

Evidence based nursing, Literature review, patient education, Professional Nursing, public health, zika

ZIKA: Evidence-based clinical guidelines to prevent sexual transmission

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As  you probably know Zika is already causing problems in an area outside of Miami, FL. CDC has taken the unusual step of issuing a travel warning there. 16743-close-up-of-a-mosquito-feeding-on-blood-pv

Accurate clinician and patient information in the U.S. will become more critical, and your advice to others could save lives as the disease spreads.

imagesCALQ0QK9Some of the best evidence on what to teach is from CDC.  These experts have reviewed the best available literature and developed these clear  evidence-based clinical guidelines to
prevent sexual transmission of Zika.  Such evidence-based guidelines are considered very STRONG evidence--some of the strongest out there!! (For more see: “I like my “I like my coffee (and my evidence) strong!”)

Note that I point out, as do they, that these guidelines are based on the best available evidence which continues to evolve.  (It wasn’t that long ago when experts denied that Zika could be sexually transmitted.  Now we know better.)

what so what what nextScientific evidence is not static. It is dynamic and ever evolving.  This is not a problem with science, but is part of its very nature–that of discovery.

“Why this matters: Clinicians should continue to educate all patients about ZIKV sexual transmission risk, to conduct testing for all persons with possible sexual exposure, and to report all cases of ZIKV to local health authorities” (CDC, 2016).

Critical thinking: How might you use this information at work or with the broader public?question

For more information: Check out CDC Zika Virus webpage 

 

Disseminating findings, Evidence based nursing, Professional Nursing, public health, Safety, zika

Zika Virus: What we know and do not know (O’Malley, 2016)

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The public and lots of nurses have lots of questions.   Our evidence-based knowledge is evolving.  Here’s some of the latest (Aug/July 2016).

You can set up a free account with Lippincott to access this 3 page article that translates current research into practice for you.

O’Malley – Zika virus: What we know and do not know: 16743-close-up-of-a-mosquito-feeding-on-blood-pvhttp://www.nursingcenter.com/pdfjournal?AID=3570052&an=00002800-201607000-00005&Journal_ID=54033&Issue_ID=3569996

Evidence based nursing, Medication development, Uncategorized

New Antibiotic Found in Human Nose

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Useless trivia, but interesting old quote from a detective on the ancient “Alvin & the nOSEChipmunks” cartoon: “Everyone with a nose knows the nose knows everything.” 

Check out the very interesting story about a new antibiotic that may fight MRSA and VRE.  A much needed medicinal weapon.  Still lots we don’t know about how well it will work in humans and resistance to it or other unintended consequences.

Want more info? See this article by By Kai KupferschmidtJul. 27, 2016   http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/07/new-antibiotic-found-human-nose

Critical thinking: What do you already do to avoid adding to microbial resistance?

 

Evidence based nursing, IOM, Leadership, Professional Nursing, reading research

Strong nursing leadership is essential to evidence-based practice

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priority“The Institute of Medicine (IOM) set a goal that, by 2020, the majority of healthcare practices and decisions would be evidence-based. … Yet…only three percent of the executive-level nurse leaders surveyed ranked EBNP as a top priority at their own organizations. What’s worse, more than half said EBNP is practiced at their organizations only “somewhat” or “not at all.”  Posted on July 19, 2016 by HTimothy  at American Sentinel.   

For full text see the source link: http://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2016/07/19/strong-nursing-leadership-is-essential-to-evidence-based-practice/

Critical Thinking: Given all the demands of the healthcare questionenvironment, how can we make this goal happen.   

anecdotal evidence, patient education, public health, Safety, Uncategorized

!!Don’t Go Pokemon Go!! Privacy, malware, safety, and infringement dangers

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Don’t Go Pokemon Go ….& if you must, watch out!  New privacy and safety dangers are being recorded almost every day.  The game is full of health and computer hazards, and has potential to distract workers from their life-saving care.

What is the evidence?  At this point mostly anecdotal reports and the anticipated possibility that healthcare workers could be distracted from life-saving work.  You need to translate this evidence into action.  Why would you do this with such relatively weak research evidence?  Because the risks are far higher to ignore it, & essentially NO risks if you use the evidence.   The BBB lists these problems & makes some suggestions based on incoming reports:

Translating this evidence into practice?  Think before you  Pokemon Go, if at all.  Talk to your patients–when people don’t feel well they are even more likely to be distracted.

Critical thinking?  1) List specific actions that you will do to promote privacy, safety and fight malware and infringement.  These can range from “never download;never play” to…..?    When developing this list specifically address the challenges above. 2) What about patient players?  staff players?  visitor players?  How should you help them to be safe?question