importance of feasibility
Manuel Cabrera
Discussion 7: Manuel M Cabrera
COLLAPSE
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Discussion 7
Szeto et al. (2010) conducted a pilot study focused on the investigation of the effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions aimed at community nurses (p. 1022). The results of the pilot study indicate that such interventions improved symptoms and functional outcomes. Pilot studies are typically conducted to evaluate the possibility of a large study and identify complications that may occur. One of the issues that could be considered problematic is that the authors emphasize the importance of statistical significance while overlooking the importance of feasibility. Nevertheless, one may argue that the discussed study is aligned with the definition of a pilot study because it focused on a specific population, and the authors relied on a small sample. Differently put, it would be inappropriate to generalize the results of the study, but it has helped the researchers to assess whether research in this area is feasible. Therefore, a larger study focused on this issue was conducted at a later rate. Szeto et al. (2013) attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions in four local hospitals aimed at community nurses (p. 414). One of the unique aspects of the study is that the participants involved in the pilot study agreed to continue to participate in research in this area. Therefore, researchers were able to keep track of their progress and evaluated the impact of interventions in the long-term. Moreover, they expanded the explanatory power of the study by increasing the sample size and introducing a self-control group. The results of the study indicate that multifaceted ergonomic interventions designed based on the needs of community nurses decrease symptoms and improve functional outcomes. One has to acknowledge the fact that this study has a set of limitations because researchers focused on local hospitals, and it may be inappropriate to generalize the results. Therefore, it would be appropriate to conduct large-scale studies in this area to establish the overall effectiveness of multifaceted ergonomic interventions.
References
Szeto, G. P., Law, K. Y., Lee, E., Lau, T., Chan, S. Y., & Law, S. (2010). Multifaceted ergonomic intervention programme for community nurses: Pilot study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(5), 1022–1034. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05255.x
Szeto, G. P., Wong, T. K., Law, R. K., Lee, E. W., Lau, T., So, B. C., & Law, S. W. (2013). The impact of a multifaceted ergonomic intervention program on promoting occupational health in community nurses. Applied Ergonomics, 44(3), 414–422. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2012.10.004
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Euclides Munoz Perez
Discussion # 7
A pilot study is a preliminary study that is done as a pretest for research tools and instruments that will be used in the main study project. It assesses the resources which include the time and costs and foresees budget problems that may occur. It determines the rate of participant recruitment and participant recruitment (Lowe, 2019). I selected an article on virtual patients for assessment of clinical reasoning in nursing.
This study investigated the opinions students had about how feasible the use of virtual patients (VPs) was during the assessment of their skills in critical reasoning (CR). This was because there was a limited number of available methods for assessing skills in CR especially for courses that were distance based. The researchers introduced VPs to a total of seventy-seven students who were studying three different courses in nursing in two universities as a tool for assessment. They used sample questionnaires to investigate how applicable and the potential of VPs in their assessment. The directors of the course used the system of Web-SP in assessing how the students interacted with the VPs and to monitor and evaluate the answers they provided in the questionnaires (Forsberg, Georg, Ziegert, & Fors, 2010).
This study really was a pilot study for the following reasons: it was introduced to a small population before being introduced to a larger population, it tested the recruitment rates in those universities, it determined how feasible this study was, and it tested the tools, instruments, procedures, and techniques they would use in the main study namely questionnaires and the Web-SP system (Lowe, 2019). All these factors qualify it as a valid pilot study whose concepts were used in a larger research on developing virtual patients for medical microbiology education in 2013 (McCarthy, O’Gorman, & Gormley, 2013).
References
Forsberg, E., Georg, C., Ziegert, K., & Fors, U. (2010). Virtual patients for assessment of clinical reasoning in nursing — A pilot study. Nurse Education Today, 31(8), 757-762. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2010.11.015
Lowe, N. K. (2019). What Is a Pilot Study? Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 48(2), 117-118. doi:10.1016/j.jogn.2019.01.005
McCarthy, D., O’Gorman, C., & Gormley, G. J. (2013). Developing virtual patients for medical microbiology education. Trends in Microbiology, 21(12), 613-615. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2013.10.002
Evelyn Dominguez
Discussion 7: Evelyn Dominquez
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DISCUSSION 7
The purpose of a pilot study is to perform a small-scale test of the procedures and methods that will be used on a scale that is larger for a study. It establishes how valid the research will be based upon, preventing, managing and planning for the challenges that may be experienced in the actual study (“Importance of Pilot Studies,” 2018). For this article, I will examine an appropriate pilot study on reflexivity and clinical reasoning on action strategies in simulated practice teaching for BSc nursing student finalist, to see whether or not it is an actual pilot study.
This study explored clinical judgement as a result of the process of reasoning and mobilization of a network of knowledge, which are the center on reflexivity and critical thinking. For assessing this they used twenty-five students for a period of over five months. These students were exposed to four different simulations in thirteen skillslab courses which took three hours. They also participated in six activities that are educational. The number of students fit the small-scale required for pilot studies. Different protocols were also tested, the “thinking-out-loud” approach was tested, hypothesis were formulated, and the reflexive grid designed was also tested(Granges Zimmermann & VanGele, 2009).
A larger research that studied the clinical reasoning in occupational therapists, a theoretical and purposeful sampling of such therapists was performed through the application of interviews that were semi-structured. There was the recording, transcribing, and analysis of the information and data gathered using comparative analyses that were constant and the grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin (James, Jones, Kempenaar, Preston, & Kerr, 2017). The results developed a conceptual method that is used till date.
References
Granges Zimmermann, J. D., & VanGele, P. (2009). Pilot study on reflexivity and clinical reasoning: action strategies in simulated practice teaching for BSc nursing student finalist. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 5(3), e155. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.04.090
The Importance of Pilot Studies. (2018). doi:10.4135/9781526450180
James, K., Jones, D., Kempenaar, L., Preston, J., & Kerr, S. (2017). Occupational therapists in emergency departments: A qualitative study. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 81(3), 154-161. doi:10.1177/0308022617744510
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While researching for a nursing journal earlier than 2010, I found a pilot study on the effects of creatine supplements in cystic fibrosis. This study was conducted in 2003. Since creatine use in athletes is shown to promote muscle growth and strength, this study’s goal was to test if the use of this supplement could improve the strength of muscles and determine the creatine kinase in respiratory epithelial cells. 18 CF patients received a daily dose of creatine for 12 weeks. Patients were monitored for 24 to 36 weeks and their enzymatic activity of creatine kinase was measured in epithelial cell cultures. The results of the study showed that after the use of creatine on cystic fibrosis patients, there was no change in lung function and sweat electrolyte concentration. They imply that this is because of the low creatine kinase activities in the respiratory epithelia. The results did show that patients had an increase in muscle strength and a general well-being from taking creatine. The conclusion of this pilot study suggested that the use of this product should be further evaluated as a possible beneficial addition to the therapies for patients with cystic fibrosis. This could result in increased muscular strength and well-being.
I believe that this study is a pilot study. This is because there is no previous research on this topic from earlier years. In addition, I looked for a larger subsequent study to evaluate my response but there is still no follow up to this topic. I was not able to find any recent studies on this topic.
References:
Braegger, C. P., Schlattner, U., Wallimann, T., Utiger, A., Frank, F., Schaefer, B., . . . Sennhauser, F. H. (2003). Effects of creatine supplementation in cystic fibrosis: Results of a pilot study. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis,2(4), 177-182. doi:10.1016/s1569-1993(03)00089-4
Pilot Studies: Common Uses and Misuses. (2017, September 24). Retrieved from https://nccih.nih.gov/grants/whatnccihfunds/pilot_studies
